Life's complications
by kuntakintae
Summary: Annabeth is a girl with a dark past and a torturous life. Percy is a cheerful boy who seems to have no troubles at all. The rest of our favorite characters are included too! Percabeth, Thalico, and a few other pairings! each has painful lives, each has their own troubles. Will they be able to overcome it together? Or will they just fall apart? complete. sequel out on my page.
1. Annabeth's past

"RIINNG!" My alarm clock rang, waking me up from my wonderful, sweet dream, which I will not describe... its _wayyy _too embarrasing

I groaned as I sat up from my bed and punched the noisy clock to the other side of the room. I was so not a morning person, and when the clock broke, I groaned again. That wasn't the first time my alarm clock broke…I can't even count how many clocks I had to replace just because of my grouchiness in the morning.

Looking at the clock, I cursed and scrambled out of bed towards the bathroom. It was five thirty in the morning…I overslept…damn, I do not want another detention again. Sigh.

Oh, before I continue to describe my day, let me introduce myself. My name is Annabeth Chase, a sixteen-year old girl that lives alone in a small apartment in New York, the Bronx. My mother died of cancer when I was four, thus I don't really have many memories of her, just a few fuzzy ones of her holding my hand, walking with me down a park, but one clear memory is her eyes. She had stormy grey eyes, much like mine. My father, on the other hand, is a researcher of Greek mythology.

Now you might be wondering why I do not live with my father. You see, when I was five, just a year after my biological mother had died, my father remarried to a woman named Helen. She was, to say the least, a total bitch towards me. She treated me as though I was an abomination, most probably because I was his first wife's daughter or something. She had two kids, Bobby and Matthew. They were spoilt brats. Apparently their father had been quite a rich guy, and gave them everything they wanted, and now, because of Helen divorcing him, they have to rely on my father for toys, which unfortunately for them, is not as rich as their previous father.

Helen always treated me unkindly, sometimes giving me leftover food when I went back later from school, not even bothering to heat it up. Whenever Bobby and Matthew broke something or cried, she would always look at me with a face expressing "this is all _your_ fault" which it is not. One day, we got into an extremely intense argument, and she told me to get out of the house. Guess what, even my _biological_ father stood by her, and so I left with whatever I had.

Well, from that day, my life practically sucked all the way. I only had my savings, a few pairs of clothes and my personal belongings left to me. I had to find a job, rent an apartment, and ensure that I had enough money for house bills, food and schooling at the same time. Luckily, I was always on the safe side, preparing for when I was going to be thrown out of the house, and had saved just enough money to start off my lonesome life. I admit, I had foreseen the seperation coming long before it happened.

But, as I said earlier, my life sucked. I had to spend almost all my savings just for the first month of my life without _them_. After the first month, I had only a tenth of my savings left. Thus you can imagine how desperate I was. Lucky for me, I actually found a job that can pay just enough for my needs, but just. I couldn't afford any other things like game consoles or a television or whatever. Nope, no pleasure in my life.

It really was lucky. The job I found had really _just _been put up. It was a very popular, but small restaurant. And when I say just, I mean literally _just._ I was walking down the streets of New York, which is where I currently live, and had seen the owner put up the poster, which said that they were hiring waiters and waitresses. When I saw the pay, which was unbelievably high compared to other pays for just a waiter, I immediately went in and signed up for the job, which I wonderfully got. I guess luck was with me at that time.

The only bad thing about working there was that the working hours were four in the afternoon all the way to eleven or even past midnight sometimes. Sometimes, when I reach home, I don't even bother to bathe, being so tired, and immediately go to bed. My school starts at seven, and I usually have to wake up at five in the morning to go to school. I know, it may sound very unnecessary to wake up so early to go to school two hours away, but trust me, if you have never seen New York's traffic before, you have never seen a real traffic jam before. It takes me about close to an hour to get there by bus!

And sometimes, because of me sleeping past midnight, I wake up late and get detention every time when I'm late for school, which is to say, a lot.

Bad thing is, if I get detention, I will be late for work, and if I'm late for work, I have to work overtime. So I practically sleep after midnight every time. In the weekends, I have to pack my house and iron my clothes. No spending time with friends…I don't have any…no going to watch a movie or a walk in the park. I even work when I have the time to get an extra pay.

So, as you can see, my life is full of work and study. Oh yes. Studies. That's ironically the only thing that I can see a shining light in my life. I always had good grades, but I think that's because I study sometimes even when I come back at one in the morning, but I do a lot better than you can expect from someone who works straight after school and has less than five hours of sleep per day.

Well, there's the introduction to part of my life, and I know it's not a very optimistic point of view...but when has my life ever been all happy and lovely since my biological mother died? Hmm…._never. _


	2. Annabeth's present

**Um okay i have no idea about how to make an author's note...is this an author's note by the way?**

**Anyway thanks for the reviews :) appreciate them a lot. I know the first 2 chapters is a bit sad, and the few coming chapters may be too, but please bear with me. It's my first fanfic and if i don't meet up to your expectations...sorry  
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**Please R&R thaks a lot :) oh and can someone tell me how to make conversations and thoughts..i don't write them much.  
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**I hope i typed the disclaimer correctly  
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**Disclaimer: all the chars except for those you don't see in the books belongs to Rick Riordan..  
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Annabeth

After spending about ten minutes to wash up, I quickly went into my tiny kitchen and forced quarter of a loaf of bread into my mouth. I then picked up my school back and checked inside, and cursed. I hadn't packed the day before, or should I say, this morning, and thus forcing me to roam around my apartment now, searching for my English textbook. You may be wondering what's so hard about finding a textbook in a small apartment, but if you have actually seen my apartment before, you would totally believe I spent another good ten minutes to find it.

After I stuffed it in my school bag, I quickly wore my shoes, slammed the door behind me, bolted it and ran down the stairs to the bus stop. If I missed the bus, I was _so_ going to be late again. Actually, I already was.

I've always dreaded school. It's ironic that I work so hard to earn enough money to pay for schooling, and then hating schooling itself. The reason is actually a very common one. No, not classes or teachings. I love classes. The thing that makes me dread school is much worse.

When I reached the school, assembly had already started. Damn the traffic. I heard pupils singing the national anthem as I walked into school with a heavy heart. Reaching the parade square, I went and stood with the rest of the latecomers, who sits at the side, away from their classes, though truthfully, I actually think that as a good thing. Teachers who stood in attention glared at me fiercely, while pupils just ignored me, which I was thankful for,

After the usual morning greetings from our black-faced principal, whose name I don't care to mention, the discipline master, Mr. White, took down all the latecomers' names while lecturing us about being late for school. Unfortunately, this is already my fifth time being late, and thus I had a four-hour detention. I groaned inwardly at that thought. Looks like I'm going to be returning back home after midnight again.

After being released by Mr. White, I made my way to the English class for my first period. Great, just great. I had a feeling that I wasn't going to go off unharmed today, as every other day…dreading what would most possibly happen later, I trudged towards the class.

I stepped into the class with all the negative emotions swirling inside me. Fear, sadness, pain, and even a little resentment swirled in me as I caught sight of a certain someone in class. My English teacher, Ms. Ang, who was teaching, caught side of me and with a little anger in her voice, told me to go back to my seat, and returned to her teaching. Thank the Gods, whoever they are, for not making her nag at me all day long.

Too bad for me, as soon as I thought that, someone threw a paper ball at me and insulted me saying "Lazy, ugly, messy girl. Why don't you just go stay at home and go fat eating and sleeping, since you're always so lazy to reach school on time?"

I tried to ignore the snickers coming from the other classmates, but to no avail. I blushed deep red in embarrassment as I fastened my pace to my seat. Now you can see why I dread school and especially classes…people always picked on me. This is the fourth school I've been in the past three years after my separation, each transfer for certain different but equally terrible reasons, except one…

_Just three more seats away..please please please…_ I thought in my head as I walked quickly. Unsurprisingly, my pleas were not answered. Ivan, a damn bastard who always liked to pick on me, and unfortunately sits in front of me, stuck his foot out and conveniently tripped me. I stumbled and fell, using my arm to block my head from hitting the ground, and thus causing me to get a bruise and gasp in pain.

Laughter rang through the class. Seeing me lying on the floor must have been so hilarious to them. The laughter only died down when Ms. Ang told them to quiet down, but I could detect a hint of laughter in her voice too. Tears welled up in my eyes as I stood up shakily. I tried to stop the tears, but with the pain from my arm and the additional feeling of embarrassment and hurt in me, it refused to stop.

When I finally managed to stand up, Ms. Ang walked up to me and asked me if I was all right, though it was quite obvious I was _not._ Remembering the laughter in her voice, I just ignored her and sprinted out of class to the toilet, ignoring the shouts Ms. Ang, but clearly hearing the several jeers from the students.

When I reached the toilet, I looked at the mirror and saw my distraught, tear-stained face. I felt devastated, and a certain word in a jeer that kept on repeating in my head didn't exactly help comfort me. It kept echoing over and over again, killing me on the inside. _Slut…slut…_

"_Why must this happen to me? What did I do to deserve this hard, cruel life? Will there be anyone out there that will ever care for me, and actually bother to know me? And..will they accept me for what I am, and stay with me if they knew…that..?" _I thought, despair overcame me and sank down onto the floor, crying hard.

"_Probably not.."_ I thought bitterly, as the tears ran like a rushing river.

Little did I know, and I wished I knew then, that I was wrong. Oh so horribly wrong. And boy how glad I am I was wrong.


	3. School

**Thks for the reviews again XD even though it was lesser than I hoped but i got reviews anyway lol**

**I hope this chapter's okay... and I'm gonna post stories in evenings or afternoons if i can from now on..people cant review when my story is posted at midnight and then pushed a few pages back by new stories in the morning -.-  
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**Please R&R...i hope this was a good chapter to you guys...ok im editing quite alot...i kinda rushed this chapter..  
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"Hey Percy! How was class today?" Grover asked loudly as he ran towards me.

"Oh, the same as always. Physical education was fun, and maths lesson rocked, but the rest was boring as usual." I said in a cheerful tone from my seat. It was recess time, and my class was released early, thus I was the first few to get a table.

"You only love Physical education because it's swimming! Now I bet if it was running or Frisbee…" Grover said with a grin as he sat down on my right, his tray filled with so many types of food that I can't even count. Well, if that were anybody else but Grover, it would have been weird, but if it is Grover…let's just say I'm surprised he's not obese yet.

Oh, I forgot the introductions. I'm Percy Jackson, a 16-year-old teenage boy who attends half-blood school. Don't ask me why the school's name is so weird, as the only assumption I can give of why it's so weird is that considering the fact that our principal is one of a kind, I would not expect a normal name for the school.

"Don't even mention it..." I grumbled as I scooped a spoonful of rice into my mouth. Last year, physical education consisted of running and Frisbee. I hated Frisbee. It was so damn boring. All we had to do was throw and catch and throw and catch and jog a few steps, and adding the fact that I'm ADHD, jogging a few steps was not enough for me, and I had to constraint myself from going into a full sprint around the whole place.

Running was fine, until I slipped on a banana skin and fell, which caused me several bruises and dislocated my arm, and if these injuries sound too unbelievable, know that I was sprinting full speed when I slipped. Why was I sprinting at full speed? Blame my ADHD, obviously.

Oh, did I mention that I love swimming? It is so far the best sport that I have ever played, and personally I think it should be the top sport in the world. Well, maybe that opinion is idiotic, considering the fact that swimming just consists of no action, just swim your fastest and try to win the guys beside you, but seriously, swimming is the only sport I am very good in. When I say very good, I mean it. I got first in school for all the levels last year. Which means I had beaten even the top for the 18-year-olds. I must have gotten the genes from my father...

"Hi, kelp face. Mind if I sit here?" a voice asked me from behind. I didn't need to know whom it belonged to. There was only one person in the world that I allowed to call me kelp face.

"Sure, no problem, _pinecone face._" I replied, emphasizing the words 'pinecone face'. The person merely sniffed and set her food tray down on the table, and sat on my left. That person is none other than Thalia Grace, one of the strongest and toughest girl in school. Even though she's strong and tough, she doesn't use her strength to bully others, unlike some other girls I know, which likes to be feared and act all tough. Those types sickens me.

I turned my head, looked at her in the eyes and asked in a soft tone "Did anything happen yesterday?" She looked at me with cold, guarded eyes, but it immediately softened as she saw mine.

"No, she was already asleep when I reached home. I guess I got lucky.." She replied, equally soft. She tried to keep the sadness and pain from her voice, but failed miserably. I won't explain into detail, but let's just say that even though she acts like a normal 16-year-old teenager, her life is far from being normal, and as I said earlier, she only _acts_ like a normal teenager. Her life is actually pretty messed up. There were very few people who can actually see pass her facade of toughness and coolness, and even fewer people actually knew about her messed up life. I'm both, in case you're wondering.

Seeing the pain in her eyes as she replied, I grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly. I know, not your typical way of comforting someone, but for Thalia, it was what she really needed. To know that she had someone there for her. Just so you know, I treat her as a sister, not a girlfriend, so squeezing her hand was just a brotherly act, not some sign of teenage love. I'm sorry if you thought that that was unnecessary, but hearing gossips from others in school about "toughest girl in school actually got a hug from Percy!" or "He must be her girlfriend, if she actually allows him to hold her hand!" does not help to ease my mind, and instead makes me kind of paranoid.

She gave me a watery smile, the pain in her eyes easing somewhat. I smiled back and let go of her hand as Grover, who was another one who knew about her, said a few words of comfort. She smiled at him too, then turned back to her food and started to eat. We all followed her example, and silence ensued. She didn't say thank you, but the smile she gave showed it all.

After a while, a wiry, lanky boy quietly sat in front of me, setting his tray down, which contained at least three times less food than Grover. He was none other than Nico Di Angelo, a pale, quiet boy who only talks to us, and nobody else. He noticed the tense atmosphere, and glanced at Thalia who had her head down, eating her food, though I think she was doing that just to avoid people looking at her face, which was most probably tear-stained.

After staring at her head for a few seconds, he turned towards me and gazed at me questioningly.

"_Did something happen yesterday?_" He mouthed the question.

"_No, nothing happened. What about you?_" I mouthed back, seeing his weary look, and also carefully concealed hurt in his eyes, though I spotted it easily. That was one of the abilities I had – I could read almost everyone's feelings through their eyes, no matter how good they conceal them. It's an unnerving ability to many, including me. Knowing almost everyone's emotions was not in my "top ten things I want to do" list.

Nico frowned at me, and shook his head and went back for his food. I sighed mentally. Why does all our lives have to be so difficult? And the fact that Grover had not tried to break the silence means that he had problems and dilemmas of his own too. Usually, when we had this kind of situations, he would go all "Bla-ha-ha!" and then start talking about something that happened in his class.

"Bla-ha-ha! Hey guys, something totally weird, happened in chemistry class today! Not only that, it was epic! Well, you see, we had to add some dangerous chemicals together and then Mr. Ong accidentally…." Grover started talking suddenly in a cheerful tone... I stand corrected, though i'm not really sure about him having troubles or not as he is one of the few people who could actually hide their feelings from me.

Glad for the topic change, I immediately laughed when he said about a chemical exploding in Mr. Ong's face. Slowly but surely, Thalia and Nico cheered up and started to add in to our conversation, and we started talking and acting as though what had just happened five minutes ago did not happen at all. We talked all the way till the end of recess, and then went to Greek class. We were all very good in Greek, and always got top four, and usually I was the fourth…but that's good enough for me.

Looking at them talking happily when we walked towards class, I wondered about each and every one of them. Each of them had their problems, and very messy ones. Even Grover had problems in his life. They hid their problems in facades that can only be thrown away when we were alone, and they had each other and me for comfort…I can't help but envy them.

They don't know, they don't know about me. My past life before moving here, before coming to this school, but I plan to make it stay that way, no matter how much I envy them or how jealous I am towards them. They had their own problems to deal with, and I _will_ help them solve it. Whatever my problems are, I'll leave it for later. Right now, they are like brothers and sisters to me, a family I lost years ago, and I will help them.

I had made a promise so many years ago, a promise to the two most important people in my life eleven years ago, and I'm determined to keep it.

The promise was to always protect those that I cared for, to _be able_ to help them through their troubles and needs, to care for them before I care for myself. It was the promise I made in front of their graves that changed my life, and also the promise that will keep changing my life.

It was a promise to my deceased parents, who died right before my eyes.


	4. Author note

**Hi guys, sorry if you think this is an update…um because of my exams and everything, I don't really have the time to write a new chapter in this story (I think not many are following it anyway) and I'm also writing a one-shot that may take me some time. So like including my exams and this one-shot(not Percy Jackson), make take some time to update. Not that many are reading but for those who are well sorry…busy **

**I promise I'll try my best to update soon. Sorry and bye i guess heh heh...  
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**Ok so i don't want to add another meaningless chapter for an author's note...so i wrote this here  
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**I am finally finishing my exams ;P and i scored 40/50 for maths...highest so far XD good news is I'm already writing the next chapter for both, those who care and actually review and those who care and DON'T review...so lol i"m a little scared of screwing up the whole story though since this is my first time writing such a long story...actually my first time writing a story and not a freaking compo for english as homework or exam...So bear with me and tell me when/if i screw up the plot...thx for the reviews btw i promise to post the next chapter soon, its thalia pov XD  
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	5. Thalia's family

**Hi guys, sorry fo the waiting. I'm not writing about Percy's past yet as i'm saving it for later, and pls tell me if i screw up the story in whichever chapter so i can change it cuz this is my first fanfic...and i'm not so sure about everything...so pls tell me in anyway u can lol..**

**Annabeth will come in abit later as i'm still introducing all the characters, main are Nico, Annabeth, Percy and Thalia(obiously) and grover will appear abit i think...  
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**I don't mind flames, but pls dun make it so um...flamy? lol like pls don't review "This whole storyline sucks" or whatever, and if you do flame, pls tell me why you're flaming(not counting the first example) like "This chapter is not good" and stop. like, what am i supposed to edit if I do not know what's wrong?  
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**And about the grammer...i still need to practice abit bcause its my first time writing all this POV stuff...  
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**PLZ R&R CUZ I CERTAINLY WILL MOTIVATE ME!(the good ones and not flames)  
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Thalia Pov

"That's it for today. Pack up your bags and head home. You have a test tomorrow so remember to study for it tonight." Mr Brunner, our Mathematics as well as Greek teacher, said as he wheeled his wheelchair out from behind the teacher's desk to in front of the first row of tables.

By the way, I'm Thalia Grace, though I find it ironic that I feel that sharing my surname with a certain _someone _is disgraceful….

In school, I'm considered by many to be the 'toughest girl ever to be seen'. I hate that, but I can't help it. Not many people, no, only four people whom I trust knows about why I'm always cold to everyone, why I always act tough and cool.

As I said, I had about ten to twenty friends, only four people knew about my secrets. It wasn't a big group, but it was already the greatest number of friends I actually have throughout my entire life. When I first came to this school, I thought people would be scared of me like the past two schools I went to, and I would be alone again.

At that time, I was desperate for help, though I never showed it. Loneliness from throughout my life at that time had made me cold towards everyone, thinking that no one wants to be with me and help me, and yet secretly hoping desperately that someone would prove me wrong.

That was three years ago. Now, I'm really, really extremely glad and happy that someone _had _proved me wrong. I can't really ask for anything more, considering the fact that having even one friend that I could rely on already seemed like the best gift I could ever receive. And I _did_ get more than I hoped for. Now, I had_ three_ who I could rely on. I said three as the fourth one who knew my secrets was none other than my brother, Jason Grace.

He was actually the reason why I wanted to come to half-blood school. I wanted to monitor him. I felt more at comfort when I could keep an eye on him when he is going through his everyday life. Another reason, though a less important one was that many people that came out from the school had successful careers and are currently millionaires or even billionaires, thus I came here for the same thing.

Unlike other schools, half-blood school accepts students from age twelve to twenty, so as you can imagine, it is obviously larger, _way_ larger than other typical schools.

Well, back to the topic at hand, I not only had three friends whom I could rely on, I also had my own group of friends like Silena, Katie, the Stoll brothers, Charlie and a few others…though of course the three were who I considered my best friends. Seriously, they are the reason why I'm still able to live in this World and not commit suicide.

Well, the first was Grover. He's…well…. lets just say he is the _silliest _and most _clumsy_ person you would be able to find in the whole entire World. That's the good part about him. He acts _so_ silly sometimes that I would laugh my guts out! There was once, he ran into a wall while blustering about him and Juniper not liking each other when we teased him. It was hilarious! He also tried to comfort me when I felt down. Though sometimes it doesn't really work, I am grateful for him.

Nico, though he has his own personal problems like me, is always around to help me through my times of depression. Most of the time anyway. He always stood by me and comfort me like Grover, just that he was more successful.

He's usually quiet though, and thank the Gods for that, as because of that, he was an extremely good listener, and knew when to talk and what words to use.

The third person…I think you can already guess who it is. Well, in case you are so dull not to be able to guess whom it is, it's Percy. Truth be told, I don't really know much about his personal problems. Actually, I'm not even sure whether he has any. He always seems to be cheerful, always laughing away as though he did not have a care in the World…but still, whenever I look at him, I have this nagging suspicion that he _does_ have his own problems, though I'm not sure where that feeling comes from.

Percy…I will forever deny that I said this, but he is like the closest thing I ever had as family. He's like the elder brother I never had, and always wished I did. (**I'm making Percy older than her, for your information.**)

Every time I was down, like seriously all depression-feel-like-committing-suicide- kind of down, he would always be there to cheer me up. I still remember how we became friends, how he had changed me so much.

At that time, three years ago, I felt like the World had abandoned me. Every day that I lived through then was like hell to me. Loneliness and despair were constant throughout my life. It was he who pulled me from the darkness, from the place where i once was, which was filled with loneliness, despair and hopelessness. If he had not been there, if he had given up at that time, I'm not sure whether I would still be here, as I may have committed suicide by now.

**Flashback**

_I sat down on an empty table in the school's canteen. It was only my second day here, and I was already getting the impression that I was right- this school was the same as the previous schools that I have attended. No one came to me; no one tried to talk to me. Whenever I walked down the aisle to reach my class, the students would all clear a path for me, making it so obvious that they were deliberately avoiding me, fear written all over their face._

_"They're just the same as all the others…they don't understand, they can't see through this façade.." I thought bitterly as I looked stared daggers at my food. I looked up to see that the two tables beside mine, that were occupied before I sat down, were now empty._

_Anger coursed through me, and at that moment I felt like shouting in frustration, and yet also cry in sadness at the same time. Am I really that repulsing? The conflicting emotions battled each other for dominance, and despair almost took over until I felt a presence beside me. I looked and saw a boy with black messy hair and sea-green eyes, and immediately recognized him. He was Percy Jackson, a boy in my class. In fact, he sat right behind me, but we didn't talk at all._

_He was actually treated me better than most of the students here. I mean, yes we don't talk, but at least he doesn't avoid me whenever I walk by him, or show fear whenever I looked at him._

_I was wondering what he was doing there, beside me, the most feared girl in school. My question was answered when he placed his tray beside mine and sat down- on the same table as me!_

_I felt so surprised, I actually let an expression of surprise light on my face, but quickly hid it with my usual façade- an emotionless face. He then began to eat his food quietly while I stared at him. After a few seconds, I too turned back to my food and ate._

_After a few agonizingly long minutes of tense silence, he finally spoke._

_"Hey, your name's Thalia, right?" He said as he looked at me right in the eyes. His sea-green ones meeting my electric blue ones. For a moment, I stared at his eyes, captivated by it. It was swirling, like the sea. It was so mysterious, yet full of life, like the waves that crash against rocks._

_"Is there something on my face?" He asked, snapping me out of my stupor. It took me a moment to realize that I had been staring like an idiot at him for the past ten seconds, and another moment to compose myself again. He chuckled at my antics, as an amused expression crossed his face._

_"What's so funny? You better think before you laugh at me." I said, glaring at Percy with such a scary look that would have made a lion run without hesitation. Percy, however, did not seem to be affected._

_"Well, the fact that at least three face expressions have passed your face in less than thirty seconds, and changing so quickly, is really amusing…" he said with a side-grin. I glared at him again._

_"If you're here just to tease me, I suggest you get lost before things get ugly." I said fiercely, my face contorted with anger. That, of course, was another reason why I could never make friends. Every time someone tried to make friends with her, she would threaten and glare so harshly that they immediately gave up and ran away._

_To tell the truth, once I said those words, I regretted them immediately, and felt despair again at just destroying another chance of making a friend._

_He'll most probably run away now…" I thought sadly on the inside as I looked back down at my food quickly. I know I know, an apology may have sufficed, but I'm not the type to apologize…_

_"Well, you **can **try to take a joke, you know.." He said to me. My head shot back up. This time, my expression was **seriously**, **extremely, obviously** shocked. No one ever 'survived' this far before._

_His face looked amused again, but this time, he talked in a soft voice, the seriousness in his tone was so heavy that I wondered how he managed to talk in that tone with such a happy face._

_"I know that what you are now, how you act cold towards everyone, is just a façade. Let me be your friend. I want to help." He said._

_I just stared in even more shock at him. He had seen through it-my façade. At least he claims that he has. Still, it has been so many years since I had a friend, and my natural reply came._

_"I don't know what you're talking about." I said in a cold, low voice, putting my façade back on again._

_"Both you and I know what I'm talking about. Let me be your friend, Thalia. You don't have to suffer alone anymore."_

_He looked at me in the eye, and said that in a tone so that I have never gotten before- warmth, kindness, and friendliness. At that moment, I wanted to jump for joy. Was this it? Have I finally managed to find someone who understood me?_

_"How do you know?" I growled, using all my willpower to keep my façade steady._

_"**I cannot break, not now, when the final answer will be determined. Everything depends on what he says. If he really understands…than I'm no longer alone anymore."** I thought. On the outside, I may have looked calm, but on the inside, emotions were surging through me. Anxiety, nervousness, desperation and so many other emotions were flowing through me. He looked at me in the eye, our faces only few inches apart. He took a breath to answer, and I held mine._

_"I can see it in your eyes, Thalia. And though I cannot tell you how, **I understand.**" He said, and at that moment, my life changed, and for the first time, for the better._

**End flashback**

I smiled inwardly at the memory. It was from then onwards that I had managed to come out of my shell and make new friends. He was the first one though, and he would always have a special place in my heart. Mind you, not in the relationship way, as I said earlier, he's like and elder brother I never had.

After greeting Mr. Brunner, the students filed out little by little. Percy, Nico and Grover walked to where I was standing, and Percy gave me a tired grin. Wondering why he was so tired, I asked, "Hey, kelp face, why are you so tired?"

He looked at me and said "Slept late last night to do a little project….so I'm a bit out of energy right now…"

"Well, sucks for you then." I said with a grin on my face, and he glared at me, albeit playfully. Nico was deep in a conversation with Grover about the latest soccer match in the Barclays premiere league, and I rolled my eyes at them. They didn't even notice.

"We decided to hang out at my place again today to watch a movie or two. You up for it?" He asked suddenly, surprising me a bit with his question. Unfortunately, it was a Friday, and I had to fetch my Brother.

Oh, did I mention that half-blood school actually allows us to stay overnight in school on weekdays? The school had lots of bunkers, and my brother usually stayed in them. But on weekends… he can't, so I have to send him back…home…

"Err, Percy, sorry but today is Friday and I have to…" I said softly to him. He looked at me meaningfully, and nodded his head, signaling that he understood.

"You're welcome to my house if you need a place to stay, you know? Both you and your brother. You don't have to-" his whisper was cut short by me

"I do have to go back. I need the money to pay for Jason's bunking, and I also need to get enough money to last us both five days worth of breakfast, lunch and dinner. I want to tell him not to go back to…that house as I'm going to collect for him.." I said, with a look of disgust on my face. That house is how I describe my past home, which was now nothing but a house that had what I needed.

Percy, hearing this, just nodded. I was thankful for that. I did not need some idiot to come and tell me "Oh it's too dangerous" or "Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?" Those were the most irritating sentences I would get from anyone else who heard me saying that, but not from Percy. He understood.

We then parted ways, him walking with Nico and Grover who waved goodbye to me, and I knew they were to about to ask the very things I had just said I hated people to ask, judging by their faces, but Percy pulled them away. I laughed at them as they struggled in Percy's iron grip, trying to get through that unbreakable hold, but to no avail.

When I reached there, I saw him talking to Mr. Anson, his math teacher. I frowned as I saw him and the teacher have a glaring match before stepping in. Once the teacher saw me, his glare dissipated and he turned back to his table to pack his stuff.

Jason, seeing that I was already there, walked towards me with an unhappy face. Quietly, we left the room and walked towards the school gate, leaving Mr. Anson to pack his stuff.

When we had reached the gate, I turned to face him and said, "You go ahead to Percy's house. I'll go to the house and get some money plus clothes. Hopefully she will be too drunk to notice…"

He looked at me seriously and said, "No, this time I'm going with you."

I immediately opened my mouth to protest, but he beat me to it. "I'll wait outside, okay? Don't try to get me to go to Percy's first. I will not leave you alone this time. I don't care if you are my elder sister, but I at least want to be there to help in case anything goes wrong."

I frowned at him, and then sighed. Sometimes, I wish he did not possess the same stubbornness as I did. We then walked quietly towards that house, the house where that bitch was living in. Every step I took made my heart jump. As each step brought me closer to that house, my heart beat faster and faster with fear and anxiety.

Finally, we reached the place. We were standing in front of a huge mansion door, which had been my home many years ago, but not anymore. I then said in a monotone voice that I used whenever something serious is happening.

"You stay outside. No arguments this time, Jason."

"…if I hear the slightest trouble in there, I'm going in." He replied evenly. I glared at him, but he jus glared back. That was irritating.

"Whatever." I said as I slowly opened the door, and stepped in. Suddenly, I felt light-headed as the house's stench struck me. I looked around the place. Beer bottles were strewn all over the floor. The lights were turned off, thus the only light source I had was from the windows high on the wall. Clothes were left hanging on railings of the stairways and all over the place. There were some other objects, but I would prefer not to mention them. They were disgusting.

I quietly closed the door behind me, and crept up the stair way on my right. "Good, good, no sign of her anywhere yet…" I thought as I opened the door to her room. This place stunk even worse. The smell of alcohol was so heavy that it made my eyes water. I looked at the bed, and almost jumped for joy and relief. She wasn't there, thank the Gods.

I quickly stepped through the garbage littered on the floor towards her study table…or what once was a study table. Now it was like everything else- dirty and littered with garbage. I opened the safe there. You might be wondering why there is a safe on a freaking study table, but let me tell you that she doesn't really have a good brain anymore. Each day, she would put some money, a lot of money, into the safe to use for the weekend. Don't ask me what she uses it for. It's disturbing and gross.

I pressed in the password and the safe door swung open. That was another problem about her. Who the heck leaves a book with the password of the safe door right beside the safe and goes out?

I took the sum of cash- about four hundred dollars - and closed the door again. I then turned around, quickly tiptoeing my way back to the door. When I stepped out of the room, I heard a rustle from downstairs, but I ignored it.

I climbed down the stairs swiftly and was about to reach the mansion door when I felt something hit the back of my head. Something hard. I fell down on the ground, groaning in pain and shock, and felt something trickling down the side of my head. I tried to move my hand, but someone grabbed my ponytail before I could do so, and pulled me up. I was too weak from the blow on the head, and could not do anything except to scream in pain.

A voice, slurry and soft, as though drunk, hissed into my ear. "Stealing? Isn't that bad, hmm? I thought I brought you up better than this."

My blood ran cold. It was that damn fucking bitch! I wanted to punch her, but I was too weak. I always was, even when she was drunk or not. I felt myself get thrown onto the floor, and screamed as glass pieces of a broken bottle sunk their way into my flesh.

Suddenly, I heard the mansion door slam open, and light blinded me. I heard my mother fall to the ground, and two strong arms lifting me up. Then, everything went black.

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**Oh yea, i made some changes from the books. Disclaimer: i dun own any of the percy jackson characters, but can i modify their age abit?****  
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**Once again, R&R i beg you ! and thanks for the reviews...i don't think i'm gonna name everyone cuz i'm seriously not that free but thanks for all the reviews :) oh and the flashback part is a little short and way mushy...SORRY..  
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	6. Jason's thoughts

**heya guys..sorry for the super late update... i'm kinda busy these few days sigh**

**Anyway, i haven't really checked all the grammer and everything and i need to sleep now, so enjo this :) please R&R as you reviews bring me motivation to write more :) thanks for the reviews on chapter 5..It was way more than i expected XD and this story, be warned, may have some mentions of rape and everything, but i don't think that cold be considered M rating as there isn't much, or none at all, graphical scenes.  
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**Weell, once again, Please R&R :)  
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Jason POV

"tap tap tap…" my foot tapped the floor. I was waiting outside the damn house of that bitch. I really hate this place…it brings back bad memories…and I'm afraid it may make new ones… The only thing I can say is thank the gods that I only had to suffer through all that for a month. Thinking about how long Thalia had to suffer in this house…. I'm ashamed that I hated her for staying here before.

I'm Jason Grace, Son of the deceased Zues Grace and brother of Thalia Grace. I know, it's kind of obvious we're related, but I'm saying this for the sake of the not so bright people.

I came here -this house- when I was only twelve. At that time, I was distraught. Zues, my father, had just died of an unknown disease. It was so sudden and instantaneous; I took me two days to recover from my shock, and only then did I start to cry for him.

I was informed shortly after his funeral that I would be sent to my sister and mother, which at that time was only a faint memory before I came to this house. We - my father and I – had left them when I was only three years old, hence all the memories that I had of them were extremely unclear and dim. The memories were only my mother's smiling face and the warmth of my sister's hug.

The first of the memories was the one that had made me feel resentful and bitter. Some was directed at my father for leaving, some was directed at my mother for letting him leave, but most of it was directed at my sister. Because of that memory, the memory of my mother's smiling face, I had felt jealousy towards Thalia and resented her, as I had thought that she had gotten the 'more kind and caring' parent while I got the 'cold and uncaring' parent. Now, I know it was the opposite. I had gotten the better one, not her. Till this day, I still feel guilty for resenting her..

Let me describe my father, and you may know why I thought that Thalia got the better parent. He was an extremely muscular man, though if one had never seen him NOT wearing a suit before, he or she would never have known, or even guessed. If you're wondering why I know that he was muscular, the only reason was because he wore casual clothes at home.

If you're curious about why he always wore a suit in public, it was because he was an extremely successful businessman and had to attend many meetings, and therefore, he needed to wear a suit all the time. The company he ran was called Zues manufacturing electric appliances cooperation. The company, though, not only manufactured new appliances, but also sold them. It was too good and popular to be sold in some normal appliance store. The outlets it had were many, over a hundred across the world.

My father was a very good technician, and considered to be the best to many other technicians across the world. Everything he created with his own hands were always the best object of its kind, but he never gave it away and only used it for himself. He never told me the reason, but I think I know why. I mean, only HE could build something like that, and he couldn't exactly make thousands of those on his own, and if he were to show his creations to the public, they would want more, and then what? Hence he did not show his works to the public

One example was a phone that he made for himself. Let me tell you - It was, and still is, the best phone I have ever seen! I bet that it can surpass ipad 2, all types of iphones and even some of the latest laptops and computers created! It was so advanced, the functions I saw in it can match up to the latest macbooks, and it was only a phone! That just showed how professional he was at making this kind of things. Well... now it sits unused in his out-of-bounds office.

Now, back to describing him and not the oh-so-awesome phone that resides in his office at the temporarily closed down company. Well, about the company…the authorities had read his will. When I heard it, I was, to say the least, shell-shocked. Who wouldn't be when the person you believed thought you as a failure of a son had just given you his entire company!

When I had heard it, I could not believe my ears. Seriously. His will had stated that the company would be given to me, specifically stating that only I was to take over the company, and nobody else. I'm grateful for it, but…me? I mean, I admit that I was, and still is, quite good with my hands... but comparing myself with my father, I was nothing. The authorities said that they would hand it over to me when I turn twenty, which is five years away.

Till today, three years later, I still wonder why my father gave the company to me. Did he actually…believe in me? Did he think that I could run the company as well as him, or even better? He was a smart man, and I knew that he would not pass it over to a person that does not possess the qualities required to run the company. Does that mean that he…thought that I did?

In truth, I never imagined that he would actually pass it down to me. I thought that he thought of me as a bother and only took care of me because it was necessary, but after hearing his will, I'm not so sure if he ever thought of me that way before.

When I think back now, I realized many things. Even though he had never outwardly shown care and concern for me, he did it in his own, stealthy way. He was smart, as I mentioned before, and he probably used his brain to care for me without me noticing. I still don't know why he did that… maybe he was too shy, though that is ironic considering he had scolded other owners of other companies in meetings before openly.

He helped me in the small, little ways, directly and yet unnoticeably. For example, whenever I went back home from school - the school I wanted…he let me choose…now I know how carefree I was compared to others..- I would find a home-cooked meal on the dining table. I never really thought about it, thinking that it was what he should do.

Now, I realize that he never had to cook for me. Him, being a the owner of one of the richest and most successful businesses in the World, should be extremely busy and should not have had the time to cook, but he did. He even came back home everyday, while comparing him to other owners of successful businesses, who don't even bother to come back home, my father did. He even joined me sometimes in dinner, though usually the atmosphere was tense, we still talk about things like school.

Only when I came here, to this damn bloody _horrible _house, did I realize that it was me who was the lucky one, who had got the 'kind and caring' parent. If you're wondering how long it took for me to realize this, it took me about ten seconds. When Thalia opened the door for me was when I realized that. When I looked inside, I saw all the broken glass beer bottles shards lying on the floor, broken furniture all around the place, and the place reeked of beer. I then looked at Thalia, who had a surprised look on her face.

It was then all the resentment and bitterness left me, as when I saw her body, bleeding from cuts, bruises everywhere, her tear-streaked eyes, and then noticed the knocked out woman on the sofa, I knew that Thalia was the unlucky one, not me. I mean, when you see your sister's house in a mess and seems like it had not been cared for for years, a sister suffering from cuts and bruises and _crying_, a knocked out mother on the sofa who seemed like she had been drinking liquor for years, you should be able to guess that your sister has not exactly been living a very nice and comfortable life.

The first month, the only month, which I had stayed in the house, was torture, as it was then I learned how Thalia had been treated like for the past eight years of her life then.

Almost every time, when I reached home, I would see my mother already drunk and actually _making out_ with some random guy that I have not even seen before! When I saw it the first time, I was so surprised that I stood at the doorway and stared at them for a whole two minutes. The thing that broke me out of my trance was a moan from my own freaking mother, and all the surprise left me, overwhelming disgust replacing it.

Unfortunately, the disgust made me want to puke, so I had ran up the stairs to the second floor toilet and puked there. It was just way too disgusting. I had thought bitterly of how the innocence of my mind had been taken away by my own mother at such a young age…why is life so unfair?

After puking out everything I ate that day, I ran out and shouted at them to stop at once. I shouldn't have…

I learned my lesson after that- don't ever shout at my mother, ever.

The man had, to say the least, gotten so angry he ran up the stairs to me, and beat me into a pulp. Due to me on the enclosed second floor, there was little I could do to escape, and he caught me. Lets just say that I never want to experience that kind of beating again. To make things worse, my oh so lovely, _drunk slutty _mother was cheering at the background for him to continue.

At that time, when I heard her, I felt so…. hurt. Sad. I felt betrayed. Unloved. If even my own mother wanted me to get beaten into pulp, surely no one else would love me. That was what I thought, at that time.

You must be wondering why I thought that even Thalia didn't love me. Unless you have a sister who does not talk to you at all, always has a cold mask, always looked at you as though she was jealous and hated you, you would know how I thought and felt that she didn't love me. I couldn't really blame her anyway.

You see, when I came to this house, it was during the summer holidays, and Thalia had not attended the school that I was transferred to yet- half blood school, and thus she had not met Percy yet. I'll tell you why she meeting Percy was so important later.

Anyway, in the summer holidays, Thalia often stayed out of home until late at night, going out to who-knows-where. I, at that point of time, already knew why- our mother, of course. I would like to say I did the same as her, but I didn't. I had lived too much with my Father, under discipline and obedience, and those prevented me from leaving for a while. Instead, I had helped to clean up the house. My father had taught me how to do many household chores if I ever had to live alone. I think with where I was, the people I was living with, you can say that I was living alone.

To tell the truth, my mother rarely beat me up. She was always bonked out in her room when I was cleaning the house, and when she was doing her…stuff, I was always hiding in my room, playing loud music with earpieces in my ears to drown out the sounds of her downstairs.

Unfortunately, it was the opposite for Thalia. Whenever she got back home late at night, my mother would _still_ be doing her stuff, and it seems to me that every different men that sees her whenever she comes back home recognizes her, and actually beats her up every time. I know, kind of fast for a man making out, but the men seemed to be used to her sudden appearances, and thus are used to stopping abruptly just to catch her.

There was also another reason why they managed to catch her… it's like this. Every time she sees a man making out with our mother, she would just freeze. Like almost literally. Her eyes would widen and stay there, her mouth would hang and stay there, and her whole body will go rigid. Its as though she was shocked to see them…but I don't think that's the reason… She's been here way longer than me, so she should already be used to this…then why? What is the feeling she gets when she sees them…fear? Could it be? Till this day, I still don't know, and never had the courage to try to ask her about it.

Well, back to the topic, whenever they catch her, they would beat her up like a madman, making her receive so many cuts and bruises, and even our mother participates sometimes. The thing is, while she was getting beaten up so badly, I was hiding in my room, hugging myself and trying to drown out her screams. I still feel so ashamed, leaving my own sister in the hands of such cruel man and not trying to do anything to help her.

If there was one thing I always did to help her, it was to go down after she got beaten up, carry her up to her room and lay her on her already bloodstained mattress. I didn't know anything about first-aid, thus I could do nothing to help her at that time.

A month later, we started school. Thalia had already enrolled to my school, which is, as I said earlier, half blood school. This was the point, which changed my whole life, and my sister's too. I found out that there were bunker's here for us to stay over, thus I immediately took all the cash I had and used some to rent a bunker. This is when Percy comes in. He was actually also the reason why my life got better. In fact, he was the one who helped me find a bunker. You have to understand that for a school with aged twelve to twenty, many would book the bunkers, and me, not even knowing until the day school started, could have never gotten one if not for Percy…he gave me his, but when I thanked him, he said with a smile "no, no, its no problem. I booked it just in case someone desperately needed it, and you fit the bill."

He's also the reason why Thalia's who she is today, and because of that, I am forever indebted to him. I had felt bad for Thalia, leaving her at that house, even though we hardly talked there, but I didn't need to feel that way for long. Here's why.

I had already noticed on the first day of school that every one seems to be avoiding her. I myself felt a little scared of her when I saw her. Her demeanor here was totally different from the house. At the house, she was a terrified, lonely, desperate girl who cried herself to sleep every night. At school, she was immediately the coldest, meanest, most scary-looking person anyone has ever met. This was also the day Percy gave me his bunker

On the second day of school, I saw her, alone in the middle of two empty tables. She had her head down, and I knew that she was about to crying. I had seen her doing this before, when she lay broken on the floor in the house. I was contemplating whether to go sit with her when to my surprise, I had seen Percy walk towards her table and sit beside her. I was impressed by his courage. It's not easy to approach someone like Thalia when she was acting that way.

I had watched them closely as Percy began to start a conversation. I sat Thalia give such a scary face that could have made a lion scamper away in terror, but Percy, somehow, was immune to it. I was amazed at his bravery. I watched as Thalia's face changed from hurt, to shock, to coldness, to anger, than to shock, and then finally to happiness. It was then, that she opened up to me. It was from that day that our sister-brother relationship finally started to grow.

From that day, she and Percy hanged out a lot. I think it was about two months after school that I heard that she would be staying at Percy's. I was shocked. I mean, a girl moving into a boy's house? And did Percy even know why she wanted to move?

Only later, when I asked him, did he inform me that Thalia had told him about our mother, and that he had offered her a room in his apartment. He said that he had guessed by looking at Thalia's wounds, and he had asked Thalia, and with lots of persuading, had gotten Thalia to tell him about our mother. It also seems that he knew something more…something about her that I don't. I can't help but feel jealous about that, but I can't blame them either…I wasn't a very good brother in the first place.

At the end of that month, Thalia had moved to his house. Not permanently, but most of the time, she stayed there. I was offered a room too, which led me to wonder just exactly how many spare rooms did he have…anyway, I declined the offer. I had, and still do, a good roommate. His name is Leo…lets just say he's a joker, and also hopeless with girls…heh heh..

Suddenly, I heard a scream. It was a scream I had not heard for a long time, coming from the very same house that the screams came from so many years ago.

_THALIA!_ I barged through the doors. The sight was horrible. I saw that _bitch_, drunk again standing above Thalia, laughing like a mental retarded dog, and I saw Thalia on the floor, writhing in agony while her back, arms, legs and head bled. Jagged shards of broken beer bottles pierced into her back, and she was crying.

"THALIA!" I shouted as I ran forward, pushing the drunk, cackling woman aside and picked her up. I saw her close her eyes and fell unconscious, and immediately screamed her name again. I was in panic…why, why, why? Have we not suffered enough? I ran out, tears streaming down my face as I carried her to Percy's place. He was the only one Thalia trusted to tend to her wounds…and the same goes for me.

I rushed through the streets, ignoring the stares of passer-bys as I ran towards his house. _I need to get her to Percy's...fast..Percy Percy please be home...please...__  
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Finally, I reached the terrace where he stayed. Without knocking, I barged in, not even wondering why the door wasn't locked, sweat and tears on rolling down my face, and saw Percy, Grover and Nico inside watching TV. They stared at me in shock…no, at Thalia. I gasped for breath, and said between them "Help…her…" and collapsed, trying my best to slow her fall as I myself fainted from exhaustion.

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**Okay so i have edited it abit more and taken out some minor mistakes and everything..**

**Thanks block out the sun(its a username) for informing me about the mistakes..I think i corrected the age thing and about the POV thoughts...I'm still trying to get used to it...but i hope i what i did in this chapter was correct.  
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**And meckalien...err..CK? well i changed a little bit in chapter two already..a small grammer mistake but i hope it's okay now. And as for Big fan..I'm still new and i kinda rushed this chapter...I did a few editions but i still have to some...I'll correct it some other time :P The next chapter will come soon...though i hope to get 30 reviews before i post it..  
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**Thanks for the reviews :)  
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	7. Worry

**heya readers, sorry for the long wait. As i say soo many times, im tied up. I have cca three days a week that makes me come back home way after six, and i have to study...so yeah.**

**I hope you like this chapter..there'll be a time skip( I think) for the next chapter..which is Annabeth POV...They're gonna meet up soon :p  
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**Pls R&R...i'll check this chapter's grammer later, im tired now..but i still hope this is a good chapter :) enjoy!  
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Nico POV

"THALIA!" Percy shouted as he jumped up from the sofa and ran towards her broken and bleeding body, recovering from his initial shock. When he reached her side, he bent down, gently picked her up into his arms and walked swiftly to one of the house's spare rooms, laying her on the mattress carefully, ignoring the fact that her blood stained the floor, bed and his hands.

He then rushed out of the room to the kitchen, eyebrows scrunched up in worry and eyes storming with so much rage, so terrifying that it could have made a dinosaur look like an insect. He searched for a while, took out a first aid kit from one of the cupboards and then rushed back to the room, slamming the door.

During all this, he was muttering all the way angrily. I couldn't catch much of it since it was so soft, but I heard words like "why…suffer…don't deserve…damn it.."

If you're wondering what Grover and I were doing when he did all this… I'm ashamed to admit that we were standing rooted to the spot, staring at Percy as he did all that. I mean, its not everyday you see your friend unconscious and bleeding profusely with injuries all over her body as though she had just been in an intense fight, and so you know why we were rooted there and staring like dumbstruck idiots.

This was actually the first time I ever saw Thalia like that. Sure, Grover and I know that she has an abusive mother, and that she always gets beaten up badly, but we never saw the extend of her injuries, and she always hid it under a jacket and jeans in school. Hence, we never saw her this injured before…

Only when the sound of the door slamming –courtesy to Percy – did we snap out of our daze. We sprang into action, rushing towards Jason and inspecting his body for any severe injuries. He had a few cuts and bruises, and was drenched in sweat. Other than that, he was fine. He must have got the cuts and bruises by knocking into people and objects while running here.

We carried him to another one of Percy's spare rooms and laid him there to rest after changing him out of his sweaty clothes into dry clothes that Percy kept as spare for guests staying overnight. After that, we went to the living room and sat quietly on the sofa, waiting patiently for Percy to finish healing Thalia.

"You think she's going to be all right?" Grover asked me in a worried tone. I looked at him and replied in a similar tone.

"I really don't know…It's the first time I've seen her in such a bad state…have you seen her like this before?"

"No…I've seen her return from a beating before though. But that time, it wasn't so bad. She had managed to escape her mother's grasp before she could suffer any severe injuries. This time…" Grover replied while shaking his head.

We both sighed and sat restlessly on the sofa, unable to stop thinking about Thalia. I kept glancing at the closed door to the room which Thalia and Percy were in. I hugged my knees to my chest. I know, so weak and everything, but come on, I'm worried sick about Thalia…

Oh, let me describe their relationship if you're thinking how and why in the World is Percy Jackson, a growing hormone-filled Teenage boy, tending to a girl. You must know by now that to patch Thalia up, Percy has to take off her clothes to tend to her, as the injuries are not only on arms and legs, but back and torso too, so why can Percy patch her up?

It's because those two trust each other like no other. I've never seen Thalia closer to anyone else compared to Percy, not even Grover and I. They have some kind brother-sister relationship. Even though Thalia seems to treat Percy like all her other friends, Grover and I can see that she treats Percy waaay better than others, just not openly.

Once, a friend of mine called Connor Stoll used the nickname Percy created for Thalia on her, and his legs ended up tied to a tree branch by the school's front gate, causing him to hang upside down…though he was laughing like a crazed lunatic. Meanwhile, his brother, Travis Stoll was grinning at him stupidly while trying to get him down. I have no idea how the heck Thalia managed to tie him onto the tree branch, but that just shows how she treats Percy specially. She only lets Percy call her nicknames, and no one else. Not many people can notice that, but I was close enough to them to know.

The only reason I could think of why they were so close was that it was because to Thalia, Percy was her first real friend, the first one to actually understand her, to pick her up and give her a better life, the one who stood by her and never gave up. ]I also think that this is a little similar to why Percy treats Thalia like a younger sister. He was the one to heal her, who understood her and helped her, and also her first friend…so I think he felt affectionate to her because of this. If you had known the Thalia two years ago, you would know that she, even though had already made friends with Percy, was still cold and menacing to him sometimes, but Percy never left her, and I'm guessing when Thalia finally changed for the better, she realized that Percy had to suffer a lot because of her personality, and must have felt damn grateful and happy.

It'd not much of a surprise though. Over the years, we found out this one trait about Percy. If you are his friend, count yourself extremely lucky. If you ever need a friend for comfort, go to him. Need a place to stay? Go to him. Need help for some stuff? Go to him. He will always willingly help you as long as it's not murdering someone or anything. He's the most loyal, cheerful and helpful friend you can ever have.

They do not know this, but rumors have been spreading throughout the years that they have been friends. Some say that they are the "King and Queen of the school" while others say that the "Toughest girl in school is dating the toughest boy in school."

About that…Percy doesn't know this, as he is kind of oblivious to gossips, but people, especially girls, view him as a damn handsome and tough guy. Percy's body was lean, muscular and well proportioned. His hair was always messy, but it fits his image well, and his eyes, sea-green, swirling with emotions, so open and yet so mysterious, like the sea. If Percy found out others referred to him as the toughest guy in school, he would immediately protest against it.

When I hear these gossips about him and Thalia…I admit, I get extremely jealous. I've been having a crush on Thalia ever since I met her, which is already about two years, and she still doesn't know that I liked her, and the only person who did was none other than Percy. Ironic, huh?

Oh, gods, I haven't even told you my name. I'm Nico di Angelo, a sixteen-year old boy. A growing, hormone-filled teenage boy who has a crush on the scariest girl in possibly the whole country for more than two years…

Okaay, lets not talk about the crush. Anyway, moving on to my personal life… Compared to Thalia and Grover, my life can already be considered bliss. I have a complete family – Mother, Father and sister -, unlike Thalia has an abusive mother and a deceased father, and also, Grover's parents were dead, and thus he lives with his uncle now.

Let me describe them. My mother is one of the best woman in the world, at least to me. I love her a lot, and really, she's the most loving mother you can ever get. Even now, at sixteen, she still cooks for me whenever I come home from school, whereas other parents usually think that their kids would go settle their meals themselves. She will get fussy over every little problem I have, which I find annoying but still loving. She even picks me up from school sometimes, especially when its raining. If you compare her to other parents, I'm sure you would think of her as the more loving one.

My father…is a different case. Waaay different. He's cold, calculative, unloving and shows not much care and concern towards me. That's kind of understandable, since he is an extremely important businessman in the business world, one of the most successful one. Hid company is called the Angelo's mining & excavating of riches and artifacts co. The company, as the name states, sends people around the world to suspected sites that hold ancient artifacts as riches like diamonds and gold, and then mine and excavate them up to sell them for money. You can see why my father's company that rich now.

I've actually searched the Internet before, and found out that the company he owned was, and is, the third most powerful, richest and influential business in the world. The second is a company on some marine wildlife, and the first is, coincidentally, the company Jason and Thalia's deceased father owned. The three companies are known as 'the big three' by many businesses and people in the World. Their business was extremely widespread, and the money they have can be up to billions of dollars…so I can somewhat understand why my father's like that.

My sister is a caring and gentle girl at aged eighteen. She also attends the same school as me, but I don't really see her that often in school. She's damn pretty, and hot, but the best thing is she's not some slut that takes and throws away boys after she loses interest in them. She's humble, and already has an extremely pleasant boyfriend named Steve, who treats her kindly and lovingly. Whenever I see them together in my house(My father actually approved on their relationship!), I get jealous and wonder what it would get for Thalia to be my girlfriend…

Well, I'm done with the introductions, I guess…back to Percy's house..

The door that covered the entrance to the room that Thalia and Percy was in opened, revealing a totally bloodstained Percy carrying Thalia, dressed in clean shirt and Bermudas, no longer bloodstained, but I could see the bandages . He then quickly carried her into her specific bedroom –Percy had soo many spare rooms that he gave each of us a specific one..crazy right? – and laid her gently onto the bed. He then tucked a blanket up to her chin and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

His arms, clothes and face was covered and streaked with blood, which made mine run cold. It was obviously Thalia's…speaking about Thalia..

I asked almost immediately as he closed the door, heart beating wildly, afraid of a negative response. "How is she? Is she going to be alright?"

Percy stared at me tiredly. He had been in the spare room for over and hour, cleaning and bandaging her up, and it must have worn him out. He looked at me and said in a tired voice.

"She's fine now. I took out all the shards and washed the wounds, applied the medicine and bandaged them up. She's still unconscious, but her breathing's more or less steady now, and she has stopped losing blood. Her condition's not critical in any way…"

Grover and I sighed in relief, glad to hear that she was okay, and my heart settled slowly. Oh, thank the gods, she was okay, she was okay. That's all that matters…

"I'm going to skip school for the next couple of days, at least until Thalia's ready to go back to school. You guys should be going home by now too, its already late. Help me tell Mr Brunner about that I won't be going to school for while for personal reasons" Percy said as he walked towards the door. That meant that we were to leave, no arguments.

"okay…well, see you tomorrow…we can come to visit right?" Grover asked as he and I walked towards the door with our stuff. Percy nodded, and I noticed how horrible he looked. Messy hair, blood streaked clothes, hands and everything, eye bags drooping heavily…he was a mess.

I nodded and said a goodbye to Percy, which he acknowledged by a nod, and walked out. He then said a last goodbye and closed the door, leaving us outside his extremely big terrace house.

Since our houses were at locations that needed us to go separate ways to reach there, Grover and I said our own goodbyes, and walked to out respective houses.

What a hell of a day…Thalia…


	8. ANOTHER author's notethanks

**Toe walker: thanks for the criticism I'll try to expand my vocab and change my writing style…Its because I'm trying to introduce all the characters and their backgrounds…so I THINK I have quite a limited vocab for writing introductions… and my English is not exactly damn good I'm juz sec 2 after all…but no excuses I'll try to make it better from here onwards as the introductions are over ;)**

**Guest: She's coming in the next chapter..well her POV anyway as I'm more or less donw with intros…the main characters are all introduced ;) lol**

**Thanks for the reviews..I think I'll post the next one in 38 reviews O.o I don't know whether asking for that many reviews, or asking for it is good…maybe I'll juz keep posting XD first fanfic and I'm starting a super long story :/ well its actually to practice my compos for school so…XD and also to write out my imaginations…**

**I do hope I'll get more reviews…and I'm thankful for all the constructive criticism as I asked for and not the random stupid flames which doesn't tell me anything at all **

**I know I'm writing alot of Author's note but..I like to reply to people XD and i can't resist..**


	9. ANOTHER NOTE z

**...I know i'm putting up way too many author's notes...sorry...but can u all tell me whether you want the next chapter to be annabeth's POV or Percy's POV? i guess this is sort of a vote...because some of you wants annabeth while others want Percy so plz help to tell me so i'll go with the majority ^^  
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**ONCE AGAIN SORRY ABOUT ALL THE AUTHOR'S NOTES...  
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	10. A glimpse to the past

**Heya guys well as you can see Percy was the winner XD sorry for not making them meet.. they are in two different countries after all.. next chapter will be Annabeth's POV and the next next chapter will probably be when they meet...though for that chapter i haven't decided on which POV to choose..Percy or Annabeth? will see later... :P and this chapter kinda short sorry..i founf this one hard to write as some1 wanted me to hint something about Percy's past...and i'm trying to keep that for later so i can't go into too much detail :P**

**This chapter is mainly about Percy and his thoughts and feelings..and about the sarcasm thing...i'm fromm singapore you know and i don't know whether all of you guys understand our type of sarcasm XD singapore slang and all...no offence to anyone who is offended by this, i'm stating a fact that i seriously don;t know whether you guys will understand my sarcasm...believe me i have lots of them but typing them out is kinda hard for me  
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**I'll read and edit this chapter later When i read it over :) and if you guys find any mistakes don't hesitate to tell me XD and thx for the reviews! plz R&R~~  
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Percy POV

After practically chasing the Nico and Grover out of the house, closing and locking the door in their face, I sighed heavily, tired from the day's disastrous events. I staggered towards the couch and slumped down onto it, totally drained. Can't I get through a day of relaxing and having fun without having any totally crazy and unnatural events happening?

After staying there for about five minutes, I took a deep breath and stood up, and nearly fell back. I was really tired…mentally of course. It's hard to NOT be after you have just seen, and attended to, the girl whom you consider a sister. Even though Thalia may not seem like one, she is kind of fragile. On the outside, probably not, but I have seen her in her weakest moments, and thus I know how much support she needs to stay strong. Even Nico and Grover don't know her as much I as I do.

I shook my head and took a deep breath again, and stood up, and this time I didn't fall back. I then walked at a slow pace towards Jason's room. I realized that I had not seen him since I took Thalia into the room, and Nico and Grover had not told me about his condition…I didn't give them a chance to…

I opened the door to his room, and saw him lying on the bed in the middle of the room, knocked out. I noticed that he wasn't sweaty, and that he was wearing different clothes from when he barged into the house. Nico and Grover must have dried him and changed him into clean clothes. I walked to his bedside and checked him over. He seemed okay, just a few cuts and bruises, and nothing that was as bad as Thalia's. I sighed in relief. If anything severe had happened to him, Thalia would be distraught.

After tidying up the room, taking out Jason's sweaty and stinky clothes that were strewn all over the floor- mental note: whack them later – of the room and throwing it inside the washing machine for wash and closing the door, I went to see Thalia.

I opened her room's door quietly and walked to her side. Her room was pitch black other than the light coming from the living room...well, it _was _night time, and I _had _shut all the curtains in her room tight and turned off the lights in her room…

After closing the door behind her, turned on the lights, but dimmed them a lot. I then pulled the chair that was at her desk and sat on it beside her bed. Her breathing was now steady, and none of her wounds had been infected severely, but her face was still pale due to the loss of blood. It may take her a few days to recover consciousness, and even more days to be up and as healthy as before again.

I stared at her face, so pale, yet so peaceful. My heart ached for her. Why, of all the people in the World, was it her that had to suffer all these things? She didn't deserve the to be raised by an abusive mother, she didn't deserve to separated from her brother for so many years, she didn't deserve to have so less friends, she didn't deserve to be beaten up by almost every guy that does their _thing _with her mother…and she didn't deserve to go through the beatings…didn't deserve to go through what I went through…

I took her hand and squeezed it brotherly, affectionately, and muttered quietly

"Hey, little sis, wake up soon okay? You scared us so much…I told you not to go…why didn't you listen…If only I had…." I muttered on and on and on. It was my fault. I should have stopped her. I shouldn't have let her go alone. I should have been there.

Without noticing, I drifted off to sleep, my head resting beside Thaia's arm on her bed, still thinking about her…and went into the land of dreams.

_"Daddy! Mommy! Please, please answer me! Why aren't you answering? DADDY! MOMMY_!" _a voice screamed_.

"Who..who are you people? Why are you taking me? Where's Daddy? Mommy? You aren't them…wait, no stop. Why are you taking me? You're not them. Stop!" A boy's voice shouted

_ "AHHH" _Screams echoed through the fog of darkness in my dream _"Please stop! I didn't do anything! Why are you hitting me? Wait, please, stop! PLEASE!" _

_"No, no I beg you, stop…I'll give you anything you want…just stop this…don't…don't do this…" the voice pleaded and begged in a small, quiet tone while sobbing_

_ "No, No, NO! PLEASE! IT HURTS! S-STOP! PLEASE STOP! AHH! NO NO AHHHHH!" _

"AHH!" I screamed as my head shot up from the bed. My heart was thumping extremely quickly, my throat was dry, my eyes were pouring out tears and I was panting and gasping for air. I quickly stood up and staggered towards Thalia's room's toilet, and slammed my hands down on both sides of the basin, supporting my weak legs, as I tried to regain the ability to think straight.

The dream…it was the dream again…I thought I had already gotten over that a long time ago… why now, after seven long years? Could it be because I saw myself in Thalia?

I shook my head wildly and turned on the tap to the fullest, and began to splash my face with the cold, refreshing water. I will not think about it…it's all in the past…

I looked at my reflection on the mirror above the basin, those wild eyes, that haggard face, the utterly hopeless hair… it all reminded me of how I was at that time so many years ago…those sadistic bastards who…

_No, I'm older now, I'm stronger than that time, and I will not allow this to break the promise I made. _I steeled myself, and pushed down the whirling emotions in me, and made my face look normal again. I will not allow that to break me especially. I looked back at Thalia, and my eyes immediately softened. She may have thought that she was the only one who had experienced all the beatings…she's not the only one, and I won't tell her. The promise…the promise…

I walked slowly and stiffly towards the chair, and slumped in it. I really was totally drained then. I even felt that I had just ran a hundred kilometers, which was seriously weird, but I didn't really notice that.

I hesitated as I began to fall back to sleep. What if I dreamt about…_that_...again?

"Damn it Perceus Jackson. You're stronger than this…don't let mere dreams of the past overcome you.." I said to myself angrily. I decided to ignore the threat of those dreams reappearing. I won't let them beat me. Never. …The dreams, what they represent_, _are the ones I_ will _overcome, and I won't be able to do that if even the dreams of them could beat me.

With that mindset, I let myself drift off to sleep, once again with head rested beside Thalia's arm and my hand holding hers again... for my own comfort and reassurance.

This time, no dreams came, and I slept peacefully.


	11. New life

**hey people. Sorry for the extremely late update. being frank, I'm quite busy at this time of the year, and will not update as quickly. I'm also thinking of writing some other stories...on animes...though this is still the main story. So you can see that if this is the main story, the other stories won't be updated for quite some time. I'll check this chapter soon. Review pls and tell me my mistakes :) again sorry for the late update.**

**Oh yea, the user guest, i don't really know whether your review on percy not showing any signs of having abusive childhood time or something is a criticism or not, but that's how he's supposed to appear..for now. Thats why the summary also said "Seemed to be a cheerful boy" lol 'seemed' ^^**

**Enjoy!  
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Annabeth's POV

"So, miss, we've arrived at where you requested. The fee will be fifteen dollars." The taxi driver said as he pulled up beside a two-story terrace. I would like to say that I was calm and collected, but instead, I was staring at the house, eyes wide and jaw hanging. _I,_ a 16-year old girl, without the help of my parents, was going to live in a _two-level high terrace?_ That was just unbelievable. Never had I thought I could actually afford this kind of house…but with the help of a certain manager…I managed to get this.

Still, when I had talked to my manager at the restaurant that I worked in, I never thought that he would be talking about a house _this _big and _this _luxurious. It was totally amazing!

I was still staring at the house when the taxi driver spoke again, now in an impatient tone. "Miss? You there? The fee is fifteen dollars. You gonna pay up or what?"

His voice shook me out of my trance, and I immediately apologized while taking out fifteen dollars from my wallet. He merely shook his head and muttered something like "Youngsters these days.."

After handing him the cash and collecting my belongings from his car, I stood in front of the terrace, and yes, still staring at it in amazement. My lips widened into a big smile as I opened the door and looked inside. This was when my life would finally start changing… Hopefully for the better. A new beginning in different place. True, my previous home is only a few kilometers away, but I had never moved out of that place before, never attended a school that was not located in the Bronx before, and thus I considered this as a start of a new life…

I smiled as I took out the keys to open the main door. This was all possible due to my previous manager. I really owe him big time.. My smile widened as I thought how it happened…

Flashback

"Annabeth." My manager called out for me from the entrance of the restaurant's kitchen.

_ "Yes, Mr Smith?" I asked quietly. I was still depressed about what had happened that day…the tripping and bullying and all…_

"_I know this is extremely sudden, and know that I'm not forcing you into this. You can decline this offer if you want. I'm thinking of transferring you to another outlet at Manhattan. It's a bigger outlet, and many more people goes there compared to this outlet since its in Manhattan. The pay will be higher too." He said calmly, though I could see his eyes searching my face, waiting to see my reaction._

_For most people, they would take this as a command. Not many bosses out there gives you a choice, but I've been working here for two years, and I knew that Mr smith is a very caring as well as understanding man. He would not force something like this upon the people under him._

"_I'm…I…" I stuttered, not sure on how to speak. He stared at me as I stuttered, amused. Finally, I managed to calm myself down enough to choke out a few words._

"_May I know the details first please? Like..like where exactly is it..rather..where would I stay..?." once I said that sentence, I cursed myself mentally for my inability to even say a sentence properly without stuttering like an idiot….but this was….actually quite a big change in my life…I was so shocked… I might actually be able to get away from this place…to a new place! Filled with different kinds of people...hopefully…different schools…_

"_Well, You better be thankful you got me as a manager!" he said seriously, though his eyes showed a hint of laughter. I smiled slightly at his self-praise joke._

"_Anyway, I have already planned everything for you. Since I know that you do not have the slightest clue about Manhattan, I have everything ready. But first things first, does your parents allow? I know they don't live with you, and although I don't really believe it, you are working to help them financially, right? Can you go and ask them first? Or at least inform them on it" He said. He was never one to pry into other people's personal matters. I was so thankful for that…_

"_I'll go outside and call them for their permission." I replied, though I didn't even have the single urge or plan to call them. He merely nodded his head and signaled for me to go out to talk. I went out through the back door and waited there for about five minutes, not doing anything but staring at the wall in the alley. I then went back in to find Mr Smith still standing at the same spot. _

"_Well? What did they say?" he asked questioningly. _

"_They are overjoyed by the news, since I informed them about the pay rise. They also said that as long as I can still send some money and have enough for myself, they would allow me to go." I replied smoothly, hoping he would buy it. Lucky me, he did, and I mentally exhaled when he nodded his head._

"_That won't be a problem. The rent of the house is low…since I know the owner personally…heh heh... and the pay there is a fair bit higher than here. Oh, I forgot to mention. I've already selected a school for you." He said. Looking at my shocked face, he continued to explain._

"_As I said earlier, I know that you have no idea what is in Manhattan, and I figured that selecting your school personally would be a favor. Its called half-blood school. Its quite a prestigious school, seeing that quite a few students that graduate from there are currently leading successful lives. It accepts pupils from aged twelve to twenty. I also heard that that school has some very nice people, though there are a few scary ones…but you have to agree with me that every school has those kind of people, huh?" He said, now with a smile on his face. _

_I nodded in agreement, and asked after that. "May I know the address of the house? I also need to know the rent, where the school is, and where the outlet is…do you know?" _

"_Of course! Who do you think I am? Well, the house is at…" he replied happily, filling me in on the details and everything as I mentally took down everything._

End flashback

And that's how it happened. It had happened two weeks ago, and now I'm here..finally.. After opening the door, I looked inside, and my jaw dropped. It was…absolutely amazing! The flooring was sparkling clean, the sofa looked so comfortable; there was a 45-inch television too! Tears threatened to spill down my eyes as I stepped in with my luggage. _Never_ had I thought I would live in such an expensive and luxurious place. This was almost like a dream…

"Excuse me, are you the person renting this place?" A voice said behind me. I spun around, surprised. When I saw the owner of the voice, I couldn't help but stare at his eyes. Sea-green, swirling with strength, and so mysterious…it was a one of a kind eyes. After a few seconds, I tore my eyes away from his to observe him. He had messy black hair, was wearing a blue shirt and a pair of jeans. About my age too…

"um…Excuse me?" The boy said, frowning and waving his hand in front of my face. Due to the bullying I received in my precious schools, I jumped back on instinct. That certainly shocked the boy, as he immediately jumped back too.

"Woah, don't need to be so cautious here. I'm just curious about who you are, 'cause you are my new neighbors and all…well if you don't want to talk, its fine. See you around.." He said as he turned around. I suddenly felt frantic. This was the first time anyone had actually came up to _me_ to make a friend instead of me going to _them_ to make friends. I certainly couldn't let the chance slip by. I also needed his help

"Wait, um...sorry I was a little surprised by that action. I…I'm also curious about my new neighbors.." I called out loudly, and was taken aback. I actually managed to _call out?_ When did I ever have enough self-esteem to do that? I immediately silenced myself, afraid of his reaction. The people I met usually scorned me or just ignored me, and I was afraid that this guy would do the same, hence not I was afraid that his reaction would be like the others..

The boy, luckily, turned around and looked back at me. His eyes bore into mine, and I shifted uncomfortably. It felt like he was reading my emotions, feelings, thoughts, as though looking into my soul…weird…

"Oh, well then, let me introduce myself first. I'm Percy Jackson. He said with a wide smile as he stretched out his hand to shake mine. I looked at his hand, and slowly stretched out mine, and shook his hand, introducing myself too,

"I'm..I'm Annabeth. Annabeth Chase. P-pleased to meet you." I said, and cursed myself for stuttering. Surely he would comment on it now…maybe say that I'm weak or something. I quickly pulled my hand away and held my breath for his reply.

And therefore I was surprised when he just continued on as though I had not stuttered at all. "I live at the house beside yours…see this five-storey house? Yea, its mine. Though sometimes I find it way too hard to climb those stairs…" he said with a frown.

I smiled a little as I looked at his house. It sure was big…if I lived in that house…I wonder whether I would get the stairs problem…

"Wow, its kind of big…you have a big family?" I asked tentatively, successfully refraining from stuttering. I was kind of pleased at myself, but that feeling was drained out of me when I saw him frown. Bad move…

"No…I live alone there…with the exception of a few friends sometimes…" I said, staring hard at the house. I regretted saying those words the moment I saw his frown, and started to apologize.

"Sorry, that question was too personal. Please forgive me for being rude. I…" A string of apologies sprang out from my mouth. Percy looked back at me and cut me off.

"Hey, its fine, You didn't know. Not your fault." He said with a smile, and that warmed my heart. I nearly broke down in tears…such kindness had not been expressed ever since I left that blasted house two years ago…other than Mr Smith…

"Well, I need to go back to the house now. Glad I got to know you. See you soon! If you need help unpacking, you can call me anytime." He said with a big smile now, and waved goodbye when he had walked to his house's door. I waved back at him and closed the door after he disappeared into his house.

This was a good start…maybe my life will really change from here on out…


	12. Coincidence?

**hi guys, and sorry for the very late update. As i said, this is seriously my first fanfic, and the normal day to day life is a little hard for me to write, but i hope you will enjoy this chapter.**

**I most probably would not be updating this next week. I have exams and doing this has already taken up quite a bit of my time. From late october onwards, i should have more time to write, so please be patient with me :)  
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**Again, sorry for the late update. i haven't checked this chapter and the last one. I'll do it after the exams. I had a hard time writing the ending part of this chapter. You'll see why if you read it. I'm not really good in that yet. Well, sorry for the late update again...enjoy and pls R&R! ^^  
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Percy POV

Its been a week since I met Annabeth, and also a week since Thalia fully recovered. She originally wanted to return to that house, but I forced her to stay. Well, persuaded her. Forcing is kind of impossible when It comes to Thalia. I sighed. Today had been a hectic day, and a newcomer showed up for _all _of my previous classes…guess who…

"Class, this is our new student. Please treat her kindly. Her name is Annabeth." Mrs Johnson, our Science teacher, announced to the class. Everyone was staring at Annabeth, who was looking down at the floor, not recealing much of her face, or eyes.

As for me? I was staring at her, mouth agape and eyes wide. I knew that she had moved near here. I knew that she would be going to a school. I even wondered whether she would come to my school. It was a possibility. When I had seen her in school. I was not surprised. When I had seen her in my first class, I was mildly surprised. When I had seen her in my second class, I was quite surprised. When I had seen her in my third class…well you get the idea. What I had _not _forseen was that she would be in the same class as me for almost every one of my classes.

Science was the last period of the day, and it was my seventh class. It was also the seventh time a teacher has been introducing her with me present. So I guess we are in the same class for every period for the rest of the school year…

"Annabeth, go take the empty seat beside Percy. Can u spot him? Fifth row.." Mrs Johnson said to her. She looked up in mild surprise, but quickly looked down again. For the whole day, she had been doing that for each and every class. And, for some reason, she was always positioned to sit beside me. Well, maybe that's because no one sits beside me all the time since they're afraid of me…kind of. They think I look scary, which is just odd. I guess sticking with Thalia may make me act a bit like her… when she was acing cold, of course. Not her inner personality.

Whenever a teacher tells someone to sit beside me, they would strongly refuse with lots of excuses. And the teachers also knew that Thalia, Nico and Grover would make plenty of noise if they sat near me. Hence, no one sat beside me. I guess they are trying to use the opportunity of having a new student to take the seat beside me so the higher ups won't ask "Why is he alone?" or "Shouldn't you move that boy down to his other classmates?" and stuff. I always refused to be shifted. I loved my corner, because the window there had a nice view. Heh heh…

"Hey, you again." I whispered as she sat down on the seat beside me. She looked at me and smiled slightly.

"I guess I'm going to be stuck with you for every class." She said in a small voice. I laughed softly at that. We then turned back to the teacher and listened to class.

After the class ended, I waited outside the classroom. I sighed as I leaned back on the wall. Every Monday and Thursday, I have to wait outside my class for the last period. A certain someone had tasked me something to do.

"Hey, Percy!" Grover shouted as he ran towards me. I rolled my eyes as I pushed myself off the wall to face him.

"Have you seen Juniper?" he asked excitedly, and I exhaled in annoyance and resignation. Juniper was the girl he liked. Not the casual crush type, but the seriously 'I love you very dearly and will stick with you forever' kind of love. I know it sounds stupid and mushy, but that's about the only way I can think to describe his attitude towards Juniper.

"Umm, I think she went to the toilet straight after class. Ah, there's her bag. You can wait for her over there." I replied as I pointed at her back at one of the front seats. Seems like she left it there and went to the toilet. She was in my class for the period that just ended, and Grover was not, so he kind of gave me the duty to keep track on her during these classes.

"Oh, okay thanks bro! I think I'm going to have a shopping trip with her again, so I won't be going to your house tonight." Grover replied enthusiastically and walked off to Juniper's back. I don't know whether Juniper is playing stupid or just dense, because they already act like a couple, and yet deny that they even like each other. So far, the only times he does not deny it are when he is with me, Nico and Thalia. I shook my head and was about to start walking to Thalia's class. She always ended late. Hence, I was surprised when she appeared through the crowd of students and walked towards me. I waved my hand in greeting, and she rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, you never ever greet anyone with a 'hello' unless you're talking to someone new or talking about something serious. You do know that people usually use a 'hello' to greet even in non-serious or awkward situations, right?" Thalia said in an exasperated tone, which in turn made me grin at her. I never really did greet properly. Usually others come up to me first, or else its me waving at them. 'Hello' and 'Hey' are reserved for people I just got to know and serious situations. An example would be Annabeth.

"I thought that your class always ended late. Why have you ended so early today?" I asked quizzically.

"Teacher was absent. Got some idiot teacher who didn't do anything except give us a bunch of assignments and slack at his table." She replied.

"Well, lucky you, I guess." I said in a sarcastic tone while giving her a teasing smile. She glared at me.

"Hmph. Yea right. Oh, I heard that the new student got in every single one of your classes. She should still be around here somewhere right? Her name was Annabeth, right?" She asked me while looking around, trying to spot her in the crowd. Thalia was in a few of my classes along with Nico and Grover, and since Annabeth was in every one of my classes, you can see how they knew her.

"It is Annabeth. Guess what. She is also sitting beside me in every class you are not in." I said. She stared at me for a few seconds.

"Must be fated for you two to be stuck together…good luck man. I look forward to seeing you two in the future. Make sure you invite me to your wedding." She said, grinning like an idiot. That of course embarrassed me to no end and I ended up lightly punching her on the shoulder.

"Shut it, pinecone face. Are you coming back straight away or going out to somewhere?" I asked after shooting back at her an insult. She just glared at me again.

"I'm going somewhere, kelp head. I should be back around eight at night." She answered. I looked at her seriously. Hey, I can't help it If she was going back to that house, I'm going to stop her. The last beating really got me angry. The only thing preventing me from reporting the whole case to court was Thalia, who was totally against it, saying that it wasn't worth the trouble. No matter how I tried, she never gave in.

"No, I'm not going back to that house. Don't worry. You're like a mother hen…" She said with an annoyed voice when she caught my eye.

"Yea yea as long as you're not going back there I won't hold you back. If you ever do want to go back, you must bring me along, okay? I don't want to treat you again. Its kind of traumatizing to see you bleeding to death and stuff…" I replied with a light tone, but she knew better than just my tone. She knew I was serious.

"Okay, stop being so paranoid. Anyway, Nico is following me. We just need to go somewhere to buy materials for our art class next week." She said as she rolled her eyes.

"Well, I won't hold you back. Say hi to Nico for me." I said as I waved my hand, as though shooing her off. That, of course, made her roll her eyes _again._ What's up with people rolling eyes when they are slightly annoyed or exasperated?

"Whatever. Bye." She said and walked into the crowd. Looks like I'll be going home alone today. I started walking when I heard a voice behind calling me.

"Um, Percy?"

I turned around and was slightly surprised to see Annabeth standing there. She was looking down, as usual. Is she really that shy? Or is it something else…

"What is it?" I asked in a friendly tone, afraid that if I used it in any other tone she would run away. Seeing her body posture, she probably would run at the slightest sign of annoyance.

"Um, can I walk back with you today? I…I don't really know the way back. The only reason why I was able to get to school was because I got a taxi in the morning. But now, with the traffic…" She replied in a soft voice, still looking down.

"Oh…well I'm okay. I can teach you the trademarks and roads you should take to get back to our neighborhood from school so next time you can find your way." I said in a cheerful tone. _Now _she looked up.

"Really? Thanks!" She said in a happy voice, though it was still rather soft. She was smiling a little now, and her gray eyes were gleaming a little happily. Was she that happy just because I agreed to lead her home?

"Let's go then." I said as I turned around to walk. She came up and walked beside me, looking down again.

Only when we had walked out of the school did she look up again.

"I'll lead the way. I'm going to show you some trademarks and roads that will help you navigate yourself in this city. Pay attention, okay?" I asked awkwardly. We just met one week ago, and today was the first time since I first met her that we were talking.

"Okay." She replied.

So that was how it went. Me walking slightly in front, leading the way and at the same time speaking to her and pointing at trademarks, telling her how to get there, where was north, which road leads to where and everything that I could teach on the way. I was pretty surprised at her attentiveness. Usually, people who had low self-esteem could not even pay attention to anything, but it was like when it came to learning, she was a whole different person. Her body posture was alert, her eyes were staring straight and unwavering at everything I pointed, and her voice sounded louder and stronger.

After ten minutes of walking, pointing and talking, we finally reached our neighborhood. I turned and saw that she had gone back to her previous self again. The shy, always-looking-at-the-ground girl, though now she wasn't really looking at the ground, but at her house.

"Thanks for helping me today. I really, really appreciate it. I got to go now. See you tomorrow!" She said quickly before rushing towards her house, leaving me behind to stare at her. I didn't even get to reply. She must have been in a rush…or too shy to stay.

I sighed as I slowly walked back to my house, and thought about the day's events. It wasn't really hectic, but having her in every single class, sitting next to me, was kind of weird. One more thing that I couldn't get out of my head was her eyes. Why the hell does it keep appearing in my head? I know they're intelligent, and pretty, and a little bright,

and kind of beautiful, and… what in the world am I thinking?!

I shook my head vigorously as I stepped in front of my house door. Even though the eyes were very nice and all, it wasn't only that that made it keep appearing in my mind…

For the second time in less than five minutes, I sighed as I unlocked the door and stepped into my house. The eyes were really like those I had seen three years ago. They were like Thalia's eyes, without the cold, icy glare of course. The loneliness, pain, longing and grief were all there. Having to see that kind of eyes again, especially in such beautiful ones, makes me shiver.

Just what is she going through? Is it abuse by parents like Thalia? Or is it bullying in previous schools? Could it be that she ran away from home. I really want to find out, to help her. The promise I made…I will never break it. As long as those eyes have the pain and grief, the loneliness and longing, I will never leave her side. It may sound too sweet and mushy, but I'm serious. I saved Thalia from despair, and now there's another one, and I will save her too. Somehow though… I feel like I'm doing this not only because of the promise…

Well, it's probably not important. The main thing is that Annabeth had suffered tremendously, like Thalia. Why is she staying alone if she is on good terms with her parents? (I know that she stays alone because I observed her for the past week. Don't ask me why.) Why would her eyes be filled with all those negative things if she had not suffered? It had taken me months to get Thalia to make friends and become more open. Annabeth, though mostly similar to Thalia, is still different. How long will it take to break down her walls?

Looks like I'm going to make a new younger sister again.


	13. The new boss and job

**Finally...Finally i'm done with exams and this chapter! I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE! I just finished my exams, and now will have more time to write. So fret not ;D unless of course something else crops up...**

**Well, i hope you will like this chapter. mainly a little about annabeth's past and her new job. PLs R&R and i don't think there's many vocab mistakes in this :D i think i will check the chapters after i finish the chapter LOL once again R&R and SORRY FOR LATE UPDATE!  
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Annabeth Pov

I was panting by the time I stepped into the house and closed the door behind me. I had ran away from Percy, obviously too timid, too scared to stay with him any longer. Also, due to my past experiences with boys…especially a certain one, I had never been comfortable with any male friends, never been able to walk alone with a boy.

In fact, Percy's actually the first male friend I have ever since two years ago. Ever since I met that boy…and it's actually a wonder how I can even stand being with Percy. They are so alike in many ways…yet so different.

They are kind, both caring, and both sincere in their own way. But there's a difference between them. The boy…he was somewhat not trustworthy. He always seemed to have some ulterior motive…something bad. I had seen it in his eyes…but I chose to ignore it as he was the first person to ever 'accept' me…the end result was horrendous, but as for Percy…he seems to be different. His eyes…were different.

Percy's eyes are like the sea, very unpredictable, totally unreadable. Yet, I don't feel the 'evil' radiating from him…not the one that that boy had…but I still must be careful. Looks often deceive, and so does instinct. Even though I feel that Percy is nothing like that boy…I can't be too careful. I had trusted that boy, and the end result was…unpleasant. It was one of the lowest times of my life, and looking at my already depressing life, you can imagine how it must have felt like.

I moved on, I got out of that particular school, and went away from him, but the memories stay, and they still haunt me in my dreams. It was the worst time of my life.

I sighed as I walked into my room. It has been a few weeks since I moved here, and this place already looks like home, with the clothes and books everywhere...stacks and piles of notes spread out across the study table. I walked to my wardrobe and took out another set of clothes and went for a bathe.

After the bathe, I decided to go find my workplace. I haven't seen the restaurant that I would be working in yet, and do not know where it is exactly. I only had the location, but I have not seen it yet. So I decided to pay a visit and introduce myself to my boss first.

I looked at the clock on the wall. It read 3.30pm. Mentally planning a timetable, I picked up my wallet, phone, the notepad I had used to write down notes that I had taken down during my time with Percy and keys and proceeded out of the house, bolting the main door securely before walking off.

"Street 41 lakeside…lakeside shopping mall…" I muttered as I walked down the streets, holding the notepad and looking around for any board that tells the road, and at the same time keeping track of where the landmarks were so that I would not get lost later on.

After an hour of torture, I finally found myself standing outside a four-story shopping mall. I cursed as I looked at my watch. It was already five in the afternoon. I had not planned to spend more than half an hour searching for the freaking mall. After recording all the surrounding details of the place, I walked into the shopping mall.

The shopping mall was like any other- full of shops, people, restaurants and stuff. I immediately started to walk, not wanting to waste any time marveling the fact that this was only the third mall I have ever went into since I moved out of the house.

The restaurant's name is 'eighteen chef', and it is one of the most popular outlets, as far as my precious boss told me. I sighed in exasperation. With such a big mall, with so many damn people, it would take me quite a while to locate the stupid restaurant again. I looked down and started walking. Even with these thoughts in my head, I still felt timid and scared. So many males…

After half an hour of searching, I was already prepared to give up. I was already on the fourth floor and I have not found the shop yet. I was about to turn back to the escalator when I caught sight of restaurant.

"Finally…" I muttered as I walked towards the restaurant. When I reached the entrance, my eyes widened a little. There was an extremely long queue, and the restaurant was fully filled with people. The waiters and waitresses seemed to be scurrying and rushing everywhere trying to complete their deliveries and orders fast enough. My already low spirits fell when I thought that I would be like them the next day.

"Excuse me, may I speak to your boss?" I asked the waitress at the entrance, who was taking down notes of the number of people in the different groups queuing up. The waiter was a girl, who looked about my age. She looked at me, and gave me an extremely wide and bright smile. I was a little taken aback. She was so busy with work, and she could still feel so happy?

"May I ask why you want to see him? He is quite a busy man and we need a good reason to stop him from his work." She said in a cheerful tone.

"Umm…I'm going to start working here from tomorrow onwards…so…" I said in a small and timid voice.

When she heard what I said, her eyes immediately widened and she started spouting a string of words.

"So you're the new waiter? Yes! I finally get to meet you. I heard from the boss that a very reliable and hardworking waitress from another outlet will be transferring here, an that we could learn a thing or two from her when she arrives. When you start working here, can you teach me whatever is good? I really need help in this." She exclaimed excitedly. Her praise made me shift uncomfortably. I wasn't used to praises, so…

"Um, yea sure. Tomorrow then. Can I see the boss now?" I asked a little hurriedly, noticing that it was already 5.45pm.

"Oh, yes, sure you can! He can be cold, but he is actually a very kind and helpful guy. Its just that that side of him does not show often.. Oh, by the way, my name is Charis. What's yours?" She said as she waved for me to follow her.

"I…I'm Annabeth." I said quietly as I followed her through the shop to a door beside the counter.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Annabeth. I'll see you later!" She said, giving me a big smile before going back to the entrance. I stood rooted to the ground for a few seconds, thinking over what just happened. That…no one treated me like that whenever the first met me…

I shook my head. It was not the time to be thinking about the past. I knocked on the door.

"Come in." I heard a cold and mean voice carry through the door. I gulped as I opened the door and stepped into the boss' room.

The first thing I thought of was how packed the office was. There were bookshelves on every side of the walls, there were stacks of paper piled up on the boss' table.

Then I looked at the boss, and a pang of fear hit me. His eyes were cold, emotionless. He looked like he was in his mid fourties, with neat black hair and a few white ones. He did not wear any spectacles.

"You are?" he asked in an emotionless voice. I shifted uncomfortably under his unnerving stare.

"I…I'm the waitress that was transferred here and going to start working here tomorrow. I thought I should come here to introduce myself first…" I said quietly. It was really scary.

"So you're the new waitress. I've heard a lot about you." His voice suddenly had a hint of interest in it.

"Oh…um…" I said, not knowing what to say. Luckily, I didn't need to.

"Your name is Annabeth, right?" He asked. I nodded my head slightly.

"I heard that you are an excellent waitress. Your previous boss is a good friend of mine, and he said that you would be one of the best waitresses I have ever seen. Though I have no idea what makes you so special, I will trust in his words. He is not easy to impress, after all." The boss said.

"I'm Mr Robert, manager of this outlet. I look forward to seeing you at work tomorrow." He said in a emotionless voice again before looking back down at his work on the table. Guessing that that was the signal for me to leave, I bowed down and muttered "Thank you" before walking out of the room.

Once I had closed the door behind me, I exhaled heavily. It was so tense, so scary. Just the thought that I would be under the very same man for who knows how long makes me shiver in fear and anxiety.

I looked at my watch and frowned. It was already 6.15pm, and I wanted to reach home by 6.30pm. It was already impossible. There goes my timetable.

"You're leaving now?" Charis asked with a slightly disappointed voice when I stepped out of the restaurant. I gave her a small smile.

"Yea. I'll see you tomorrow at work…and maybe teach you whatever I can teach about being a good waitress…though I don't think I'm really at the level of teaching yet…" I said. Upon hearing that statement, Charis gave me a bright smile and waved her hand excitedly.

"I'll see you tomorrow then!" She exclaimed happily. I smiled as I waved back before turning back and starting my journey back home.

"I should have bought something to eat while I was at the mall…" I said as I walked towards my house. It was already 7pm. I had taken forty five minutes to walk back…at least it was better than how long it took for me to get there. My stomach growled, and I sighed.

I was already very tired, and the nearest convenience store was ten minutes away by foot. And the worst thing was that I had absolutely no food in the house. I did not think that I would need any. I grumbled to myself and made a mental note to store some instant noodles and other quick-to-cook stuff in the house for thee kind of situations.

I sighed again in hunger and a little sadness as I opened the door to my house. I guess there won't be any food for me tonight. Unless I could gather my energy…but the meeting with the boos plus the hours spent walking trying to find the restaurant had made me mentally and physically tired. I doubt that I would be able to get even that much energy.

"Annabeth?" A voice called behind me. I turned around my eyes widened in mild surprise. It was Percy. And his hand was carrying a bag of food.

"Hi, Percy. Why are you here?" I asked. I was surprised that my voice and speech was normal. I must be getting used to Percy…though not so much as I felt embarrassed for no apparent and looked to the ground again under his gaze. I really need to get rid of this shyness...this low self-esteem…

"I brought some food over. I forgot that Thalia wouldn't be eating at my house today and bought her share. I can't really eat another serving, so I thought of giving it to you. Can you eat it? Or have you already eaten?" He asked in a slightly embarrassed tone. It must have been silly for him to suddenly remember that his friend was not eating after he had bought his friend's share.

I was shocked. No one ever offered me this kind of kindness. My eyes started to water, but I quickly blinked. I will _not_ let Percy see me cry. On the inside, I was seriously jumping for joy. Partly was because I did not have starve through the nght any longer, and partly because Percy had actually thought about my welfare. I felt extremely touched and grateful.

"If its not too much to ask…" I said in a timid voice.

"Here." He said as he stretched out his hand, holding the food.

"Th-thanks Percy…" I said. He just gave me a wide grin.

"No problem. If you need any help in anything, feel free to call me. I'm always free." He said, waving at me in goodbye before turning to walk back to his house. I closed my door and watched him go back to his house from my window.

He's so kind and thoughtful…it really warmed my heart. A tear slipped down my face. I was starting to trust him…

But many doubts still purged me. After all, the previous boy was the same, but the end result was…was…terrible. Can I really trust Percy? They both were kind and thoughtful, but still different. Maybe…maybe I can trust Percy…but can I really ever trust anyone again? Especially a boy? After what had happened with me and that boy in the past…I really don't know.


	14. Bonding

**Long time since i updated, but since my holis has started and i have lots of time to waste away, I'll update as fast as i can :) sorry for the long wait for anyone who still cares lols**

**pls R&R! Hope u like this chap. Apologies to the guys named...err hate you thing...well...look above ^^ I'll try to update fast...i still have ccas though...tiring...sorry. Oh well, its up to you to hate me or like me :D I write this for my imagination to be written down and share it with the people who are interested. Its not exactly like this is my life...considering one of my most important exams just passed...nevertheless, sorry for updating so late and I'll try to update faster :D  
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Percy POV

"Hey. Hey, Thalia, Wake up." I said softly as I shook her gently by the shoulder. She didn't even budge. I sighed in exasperation.

"Thalia, wake up!" I said in a louder voice and shook her a little harder. _Now_ she responded.

"Mmph…why'd you wake me up…I'm so damn tired…" She groaned as she slowly sat up on her bed, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes. I almost laughed at the sight of her messy hair sticking out all over the place, but managed to contain and conceal it.

"It's already six thirty, and we have to be at school by seven twenty! You didn't even shower last night when you came back, right? You're still wearing yesterday's clothes!" I said in a slightly frustrated tone. She just smiled sheepishly at me.

"Nico and I stayed out quite late, and I was exhausted when I came back, so I just went to sleep immediately…sorry." She said, still smiling sheepishly. I rolled my eyes, and smiled slightly as I thought of a way to get back at her.

"Are you two a couple yet? You two seem to be _very_ close for the past few months." I said with a teasing smile, emphasizing on the word 'very'. Her reaction was totally hilarious. Her face almost immediately turned beet red, her eyes became as wide as saucers and her mouth was wide open. She looked embarrassed and shocked at the same time. This time, I couldn't help but laugh at her face.

I'm actually okay with Nico and Thalia getting together. Nico was the second person to befriend Thalia, and had helped her countless times through difficult problems. I am Thalia's 'brother' after all, and I care a lot on what type of boy Thalia will get into a relationship with. Nico is fine. I actually think that he's the best choice for her, and I seriously hope that he likes her and will be able to get together with her. If there is anyone I trust to protect, love and treat Thalia well, it will be Nico. Considering their past few months of going out late at night to hang out and chat, I am quite confident that they will get together soon.

"W-What! Whatever gave you the idea that we like each other? We're just friends!" She shouted at me while she picked up her pillow and threw it at me. I ran out of the room dodging the pillow and closed the door, leaving a very embarrassed Thalia behind as I continued to laugh my ass off.

"Did something happen? I heard Thalia shouting…" Jason's voice carried across the living room as he walked out of his bedroom. I managed to take control of my laughter and shook my head.

"Just a little joke to wake her up. She's fine, probably would be here in ten minutes or so. You up for breakfast?" I asked.

"Yes, thanks. I could make breakfast for myself, you don't have to-" He replied, but stopping when I cut in.

"Don't worry. You just go sit at the dining table and wait. I don't mind helping you guys out." I said, waving my hand at him and walking towards the kitchen.

"Thanks…" he said softly as I walked. I just turned around and smiled at him before turning back and entering the kitchen to make breakfast.

Ten minutes later, three plates were placed on the dining table, filled with typical breakfast food. Each had a scrambled egg, two loafs of bread and two slices of ham. There were also two glasses filled with orange juice and one filled with apple juice. The apple juice was for me. I like apple juice. The orange juices were for Thalia and Jason. They really love orange juice. Like brother and sister, really.

"Morning, Jason, and go to hell Percy." Thalia said as she sad down on her chair, glaring at me. Jason just raised an eyebrow and looked at me whereas I just smile at her. The glare intensified.

"We have to eat quickly. We'll be late for school if we don't. Relax Thalia, I was only joking. Start eating and stop glaring, its ruining my appetite." I said with a teasing smile. She rolled her eyes and started to eat like a starved bear. I guess the reminder wasn't needed.

Another ten minutes later, we were at the doorstep, with Jason and Thalia waiting for me to lock the door. Out of curiosity, I glanced at Annabeth's house and was surprised that her lights were turned off. I was about to turn back, thinking that she must have gone to school already when the lights in her house turned on. My attention went back to the house. If she had just woken up, she would obviously be late for school. I frowned, and decided that I would wait for her, and took out my phone.

"I have to attend to something. You guys go ahead." I said to Jason and Thalia as I dialed for a cab. They looked at me quizzically, but shrugged and waved before turning around and walking to school. I, on the other hand, turned towards Annabeth's house- the opposite direction- and walked towards it while telling the cab driver where to fetch me…or us. The only reason why I'm getting a cab is because that's the only way one can reach to school without being late at this timing, or rather, at the timing ten minutes later

I was about to knock Annabeth's door when it suddenly opened. Guess what, a very flustered girl collided into me at full force, sending us both flying backwards.

"Ouch…" I groaned as I sat up from the ground. She must have been in a _real_ rush for her to actually run into me at full force. I looked at Annabeth and could tell that she was winded. Well, that goes for both of us.

"Hi." I said simply, rubbing my chin where her head had hit. Luckily she was looking down and bending a little when she ran, if not she would have hit my face with hers…that would be totally awkward.

"Um…Percy? Is that you?" She asked in a small voice. Oh well, the usual I guess.

` "Yea, its me. I can't really be anyone else." I said, putting in a slightly sarcastic remark. I immediately berated myself for doing that. She's already so timid. How can I even think of being sarcastic to her.

I was about to apologize so that she won't run away when she just chuckled softly. Hearing the chuckle, my apology died in my throat. Seems like she's finally getting a little more comfortable. With me, at least. I'm not sure the Annabeth I first met outside her house would have chuckled at that.

"Yea…that's kind of true…what are you doing here? Oh, wait. Oh shit!" She said as her eyes widened suddenly, and she scrambled up to her feet. I didn't even realize we were still sitting on the ground until then.

"Percy, we have to go _now!_ We're already late!" She exclaimed. I just slowly stood up and smiled calmly, though mentally I was thinking about her saying the word 'shit'. Must be because she's panicking, that's why she has the courage to even curse.

"Hey, chill. See that cab? I called for one to pick us up. Noticed that your lights turned on ten minutes ago, and that you would certainly be late, so I decided to wait for you and call for a cab so we both don't have to be late. You fine with sitting in a cab with me for a while?" I asked. She looked at me, stunned.

"You waited for me?" She asked in a very small voice now. I nodded and smiled. Her eyes widened a bit, and then she looked away.

"Thank you…" She said. Even though her hair was covering her face, I could tell that she was smiling.

"Well, what are friends for? And we're neighbors too! Lets get going, before even taking a cab will make us late." I said, grinning. She nodded and locked her door behind her before walking with me to the cab waiting by the road.

We talked a bit on the way to school in the taxi, but sadly, not that much. She _was_quite a shy girl, and the trip was short.

When we reached school, we immediately rushed to out classes. Once again, I noticed that Annabeth was rushing in the same direction as me.

_No way…_ it can't be, right?

"Hey, what class are you taking right now?" I asked Annabeth as we walked swiftly in the same direction.

"Chemistry…" She replied quietly without looking at me. I stared at her in disbelief.

"I'm in chemistry too…this is way weird…" I said in wonder. Her reaction was like mine- the staring in disbelief thing.

"….What? We're in the same class again? Which means my seat would be…" she muttered under her breath as she turned her head to see where she was going. I rubbed the back of my neck a little sheepishly.

"Well, the only available seat is beside me again. I'm far from being a loner in this school, but no one likes where I sit because its so far at the back and they _think_ its very hot since there are no fans there and that very little air from the air conditioner travels there. If only they tried to sit there at all…well, anyway, looks like you'll be sitting beside me again." I said. She looked at me and smiled. An actual real, genuine smile.

"Well…I don't really mind that…" She said quietly and looked down immediately. I smiled widely at that comment. Seems like she's finally softening up to me.

"Well, I'm thankful for that." I said. I then realized that we have already reached the door for the chemistry class. I opened it and walked in first, followed by her. Luckily, the teacher wasn't there yet.

"I doubt Mrs Sparrow would bother to even introduce you, so you can just sit straight away." I said to Annabeth as I walked to my seat. She didn't reply, but followed me anyway.

"So you were waiting for her. Should have known, knowing you and your overly-friendly personality." Thalia said as I walked past her desk. I smiled at her.

"Well, glad to hear that you think of me as friendly. Oh, hey there, Nico. I would really like to know whether you guys did anything…special last night, so I'll talk to you later, okay?" I said as I spotted Nico sitting quietly beside Thalia. Both their eyes widened and stared at me, causing me to laugh. Simultaneously, both of their faces turned slightly pink and they glared at me. I ignored them and continued walking.

"You share quite a close bond with them…especially Thalia…" Annabeth commented as we both sat down and waited for the teacher to arrive at the class.

"Yea…they're my group of friends. I'll introduce you to them during lunch break, if you don't mind. My group of friends." She looked shocked for a second, before looking away.

"You don't need to bother. I'll just be a nuisance anyway…" She whispered. I frowned, and cursed whatever happened in the past to her that made her think that way.

"No, you won't be a nuisance at all. They would love you." I said. She glanced at me, and saw me looking at her seriously, almost glaring at her. I was angry, but not at her. Either way, I tried not to show it.

"Are you sure…?" She asked, still whispering.

"Yes. I'm absolutely sure. I'll bring you to them later at lunch break." I said. This time, she kept quiet, but nodded her head.

Deciding that staying on that particular subject would just dampen the mood even more, I changed the subject.

"Can you let me see your timetable? I'm wondering whether we're in the same class for the next class…" I asked her. She took her timetable out and passed it to me.

"Here's my timetable. I'm also wondering whether…" She said, in her normal voice, which was the quiet shy voice, not the whispering one.

I took her timetable and skimmed through it. My eyes widened with each passing detail. A few seconds later, I passed it back to her, stunned. She took it back and glanced curiously at me.

"Is…something wrong?" She asked. I shook my head, and looked at her in wonder.

"You like swimming?" I asked her. She nodded, still looking at me curiously.

"Why do you ask?" She asked.

"Because I take swimming too, and apparently I take every single class you take. We have exactly the same timetable." I said. At this, it was her turn to be stunned.

"Oh…" was her reply. She seemed too shocked to say anything else.

"Guess we'll be seeing each other _ a lot_ this year." I said.

"Yea…" She replied. She opened her mouth and was about to say something when Mrs Sparrow walked in, which kind of ended our conversation.

"Later, I'll bring you to my group of friends. Okay?" I whispered to her as I asked, not wanting Mrs Sparrow to hear us. She nodded and pointed back at Mrs Sparrow, signaling me to start listening.

Its funny how much she can change in class, from the ever-so-shy girl outside class to the serious, attentive girl in class. Studies sure change her a lot.

I turned back to see what Mrs Sparrow was writing on the board, and copied down some notes. Seems like I'll have some introducing to do later on.

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**I'll update this later cuz it juz came out yesterday...though i already have the next chap planned out...hoping for at least 80 reviews...anyway, i'll certainly be updating faster than last time for these two to three months, but i wthink i will update on saturday, maybe? Well, waiting for more views. Cya!**


	15. Friends

**Yo, people who read this. Seems like i finally have the time to update this thing regularly for once, even though its only for one week. Hopefuly for the next two months or so, it would stay this way, and even better, the next few months until this story is finished.**

**I hope you like this chapter. Still building, still building. This story is far from finished too. I don't even know how many chapter this would take, but since the name is called 'life's complications', you'll certainly see lots of complications. Oh well. pls R&R!  
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**btw i post this in midnight in my time, which is morning in US since majority of my viewers are from there so sometimes i may not update cuz its so late and i too tired lol  
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Annabeth Pov

I was stressed out of my mind as the last class before lunch break ended. Some may think its because of the amount of assignments given. Others may think that its because of home problems or relationship problems. If anyone guesses all of those, they are totally wrong. The reason why I was stressed out of my mind was because I was going to _meet _people. Its totally idiotic, being stressed out so much just because I'm going to meet some friends of Percy.

People would laugh and say that its natural to be stressed in meeting new people. Well, that's true, but I was shaking uncontrollably as I packed my stuff when the bell rang. Even my hand could not stay still.

"Hey, you okay? You're shaking a lot. Are you sick?" A voice asked from my left. I turned to face the first person that has ever come up to me and show me kindness immediately.

"I-I'm fine. Just a little nervous…" Yea right, a _little_ nervous.

Percy smiled warmly at me, which, even after two weeks of seeing that smile directed at me, makes me feel totally happy and blissful. I never got that much friendliness and kindness back in the Bronx. In every school, people regarded me coldly at first, and then slowly warmed up to me, only to throw me away once I had helped them do some stuff. Only once had a person treated me very kindly…but he threw me away, just like the rest.

I was afraid Percy would do the same thing.

"Well," Percy said as he turned back to pack his stuff. "Its not weird for some one to be nervous when they are going to meet a hell lot of new people. It would be weird if you were _not _nervous."

I could tell that he was thinking about my shy personality. I looked down again. It becomes a habit after doing it for so many years. I just couldn't show my face for a long time. Many people in the past had said that I was ugly, rotten, had the looks of a _slut_ even though I never even dressed like one. I didn't even have the money to buy make-up!

"Come on. Its time to get you some other friends. I think you'll recognize some of them. You certainly will recognize Thalia and maybe Jason." Percy said, picking up his packed bag. I did the same, and followed him down to the cafeteria for our lunch, and to meet some new friends.

To say that I was a little nervous on the way would be the understatement of the century. I was practically shivering and shaking all the way as though I was wearing only one layer of cloth on Antarctica. My mind kept thinking about how to act, what may happen, how bad things would get, how to be able to survive as a loner…mainly all the bad stuff that could happen.

When we reached the cafeteria, it was already filled with students, though because of its humongous area, there was still space to walk without much trouble. After all, this school has eight levels to accommodate.

"Make sure you follow me closely. I don't want you getting lost." Percy said jokingly as he looked at me. As for me? Because of the huge crowd of people, I was already in shy mode, looking down at his feet. It was the only way for me to look down and _still_ keep track of him. My eyes were locked down on his shoes. I, too, did not want to get lost.

He then started walking, and I followed closely behind. Left, right, left, left…We passed many tables, Percy saying hi to somebody he knows occasionally. After about two minutes of walking, we finally stopped. I looked up slightly, and saw a group of about ten to fifteen people occupying two tables. I immediately recognized Thalia, sitting beside a boy I sometimes see in a few classes. There was also a very mean-looking girl and quite buff girl sitting beside a lean boy. They seemed to be a couple, though it was kind of scary to imagine the girl ever having a boyfriend. The boy seemed okay with her looks, though.

"Hey guys." I heard Percy say. They all looked up at him, and smiled widely, except the buff girl.

"Yo, Percy." A buff boy called out and waved. Percy smiled back.

"Heya Beckendorf. You two coming along fine?" Percy asked. The girl- a very pretty one- sitting beside the guy called Beckendorf looked down, and I could see a faint tint of red appear on her cheek. She was blushing. Beckendorf, on the other hand, just scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly.

"Well, yea, thanks to you." He said. The words 'thanks to you' caught my attention. I wonder what did Percy do to help these two become a couple. Oh well, maybe I'll find out next time. That is, if I am able to get through this introduction.

"Percy, who's that girl beside you?" Another boy in the group asked Percy.

"I'm getting to that. I'd like to introduce this girl to you guys. Her name is Annabeth. She's in every single class that I'm in and she also sits beside me in every one of those classes. Don't stare at her like that. You're making her nervous." Percy announced. He was also absolutely right. I was getting really, _really_ nervous. They had all started staring at me when they heard Percy say that we had the same classes and sat beside each other in every single one of them. At least, so far.

"Hello, my name is Travis Stoll," A boy from the table said as he stood up and bowed. I was a little amused by his antics. "I am extremely delighted to welcome you to our group. By the way, you look extravagantly beau-" The boy, whose name I just learned was Travis, was cut short of his speech when a girl hit his head from behind. He winced and his head bended forward slightly before snapping his head around and glared at the girl, who was glaring back at him. The comical thing was that when he saw who the girl was, his glare faded away immediately and he cowered a bit, smiling sheepishly at her.

"Oh errr, hey Katie." Travis said, and brought up his hand to block another hit from the girl whose name I just learned was Katie.

"You-freaking-BASTARD!" She said in between hits. "Why the HELL did you put that stupid toy cockroach inside my locker! I was so embarrassed when i screamed because of it. Everyone stared at me as though i was crazy! I'm gonna fucking kill you!" The scene that was playing in front of me amused me immensely, as well as worried me as one of them could get hurt, or punished for fighting in school, though it wasn't really counted as fighting, since the only one hitting was the girl called Katie.

"Don't worry. This is, like, the hundredth time that they have done this. They fight like a couple. Its kind of obvious that they have deeper feelings for each other than friendship, but neither knows this. They're both quite dense when it comes to relationships and feelings." Percy whispered to me. I nodded slightly, a small smile forcing itself on my face. I couldn't help it. They were so funny.

"Can we resolve this later," Travis whined as he blocked another of Katie's hits. "I was introducing myself to the new girl over there." He pointed at me.

Katie then looked up and realized I was there, and was new. She immediately smiled at me, which freaked me out a little as her face had shifted from totally angry to kind and friendly. Well, I'm not complaining about the friendly part though.

"Oh, hi there. I didn't notice you. I'm so sorry. My name's Katie." She said with a bright smile. It took me every ounce of my courage to look up, smile back and reply.

"It's fine…my name is Annabeth." I said to her, smiling shyly.

"Annabeth? Its such a beautiful name!" Katie exclaimed. I was a little dumbfounded by the praise, but recovered fast enough to reply without them noticing my shock.

"Thank you…" I said quietly. Katie then seemed to remember about Travis and glared at him again. Travis had already sat down, and just smiled sheepishly. Katie huffed angrily.

"I'm going to get my lunch. Want to go together?" She asked me, and looked at Percy too. Percy answered for me.

"Not finished introducing. Unfortunately, Travis here had to waste his time being a well-mannered 'gentleman' when we started, and his speech wasted quite a bit of time. And you also interrupted the introduction." Percy said, and Katie rolled her eyes.

"That's Travis for you, and practically everyone else," Katie said and glared again at Travis. I really pitied Travis. He got nothing but glares from her. "Well, sorry for interrupting. I'll see you guys later." Katie turned around and walked towards the food vendor.

The people then started to introduce themselves. Ten minutes later, I had already memorized each and every one of their names. The buff girl was called Clarisse. The boy sitting beside her was her boyfriend, Chris. There was also Jason, who I sometimes see in my neighborhood. He also had two very good friends called Piper and Leo sitting beside him. I already knew Beckendorf and Silena, and their relationship status. I also found out that Travis and the boy sitting beside him are brothers-the Stoll brothers. I got a little information from Percy that they were known as the best pranksters in school, and that I should watch out for them. There was also Thalia and the pale boy that sits beside her all the time, whose name was Nico. Another couple in the group was Frank and Hazel. They looked really good together. I also found out that Grover was the biggest eater in the group, and he wasn't even the biggest in size. He was actually quite small, compared to the others in the group.

They were the friendliest group of people I had ever met. Almost all of them welcomed me warmly, and those that did not were either just the normally grumpy type or the quiet type, the latter being Nico. He still said hi and introduced himself, though.

When I was in that group, eating lunch and hearing their conversations, I felt more at home than I ever did before.

Maybe, just maybe, my life will really change for the better, like totally change. These people were not fakes or anything. They really were friendly. But, still, the past haunts me, and I can never be too sure. I better not get too comfortable with this. It will only hurt more if they ever abandon me, like the last group…

"Penny for your thoughts." I heard Percy speak to me. I shook my head, partly to break my train of thoughts, and partly to just answer him.

"Just thinking. It's nothing much." I replied. I was sitting beside him, him on my left and Katie on my right. Katie was a friendly girl, and I liked her a lot. I still couldn't talk while looking at them in the eyes, maybe except for Percy, but I felt a lot more peaceful and secure in the group, and even talked a little to Katie. I hadn't talked to anyone other than Percy since I moved to Manhattan, and its hard to imagine that I had already talked to over ten people in just half-an-hour after about three weeks of talking to only one person.

"Are you free after school? We're going to hang out and eat some snacks together." Katie asked me. I froze. Shit. What excuse can I give? I can't tell them that I'm working. If I do, they'll probably look down on me and be disgusted with me since I'm so poor that I needed to work. I quickly formulated a reasonable excuse.

"I…have some things to settle after school. I don't have the time, maybe another day." I said, and cursed myself. I can't lie to them every single time. I saw Katie's face fall a bit, and was a little pleased, as someone was actually disappointed with the lack of my presence.

"Oh…well we don't go out together all the time, with all our own businesses…well, maybe next time then. If I'm not wrong, the next time will be the Tuesday two weeks later, right?" She asked, looking at Percy with a questioning frown. I turned around to see Percy nod, but what creeped me out was that he was staring at me. I turned my head quickly to face Katie again, who was smiling at me.

"Well, I hope you can make it on that day." Katie said. She opened her mouth to say more but the bell rang. She groaned and stood up, carrying her empty plate.

"Got to go. See you later." She said. We all stood up and returned our plates. Once again, Percy and I were walking towards the same class. I could tell Percy was deep in thought, though about what, I was clueless. Well, not really clueless. He may be suspecting that my excuse was not true…technically, it was true, just not that total truth.

I then heard Percy sigh and looked at him. He looked at me and smiled.

"Hope you can join us the next time. If you need help in whatever business you have to attend to, just call me. Oh, wait…you don't have my number, do you?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Well, I'll tell you now. You can record it on your phone." He said. I nodded and fished out my phone, pressing the buttons that me mentioned. I then saved his number and thanked him quietly. As always, he smiled warmly. We then entered our class and took our seats, waiting for the teacher to arrive.

"So you have to go now?" Percy asked me as the bell rang, signaling the end of school. I nodded.

"Sorry for not being able to join you. Hopefully, the next time…" I said. He nodded with his usual cheerful smile.

"Remember. If you need any help whatsoever, just call me." He said. I nodded again.

"I'll remember. You're the first friend I made in this place, how can I forget?" I said, and was a little shocked at what I just said. Did…did I just…

Apparently, Percy was a little shocked too. His eyes widened slightly when I finished the sentence. I guess he was used to my shy self. His smile then widened even further.

"Right, right. Sorry for nagging like an old grandmother." He said in a playful tone, which caused me to chuckle. Did I just CHUCKLE?

I smiled at him happily. That's right. _Happily._ When was the last time I was ever this happy? Maybe when my previous boss said that I would be transferring here and that he had settled everything already…still…

Slowly but surely, I was getting more confident, more comfortable around Percy.

It frightened me.

It frightened me to know that I was getting comfortable with someone again. It frightened me as the person I was getting comfortable with was so much like _that_ person. It filled me with fear, as I was afraid that I would get hurt again if Percy ever decided to leave me or betray me like everyone else in my past, especially _that _person. Yet, I couldn't stop myself from getting more attached to him. I was frightened that I would regret it in the future.

"I'll see you later or tomorrow. Bye…" I said quickly as I turned around, shouldering my school bag and hurried to the door, leaving a stunned Percy behind.

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**Typos typos...i'm going to continue checking tmr just corrected a few i spotted today...maybe i shld say i will correct the rest _later_ lols ok thats lame but . anyway i checked the spelling if i missed out anywhere pls tell me  
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	16. Growing affection

**Hey guys :D see, now is weekly uploading whee~~ hopefully this can continue. I used a little language in this, but hopefully you guys don't mind. Please R&R! i posted this at the wrong time but since i won't be home tonight, i can only post it now...so i don't really expect a lot of reviews. Still, if you read this, please R&R!**

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Nico's POV

"So, where do you guys want to go to eat?" Beckendorf asked, his arm hugging Silena close to her. I swear, ever since Percy patched things up between them due to some misunderstandings, they have been inseparable. Wherever Silena is, I will always see Beckendorf beside her with his arm around her shoulders, hugging her close. They even changed the subjects that they wanted to study just to be in the same class with each other all the time. It's very sweet, but also kind of um…way too mushy for me, seeing them stuck to each other and sometimes even doing the PDA thing. Like kissing and stuff,

Every time I see them together, I always feel jealous. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help it. They have each other, always having someone to lean on for support, someone to share your troubles freely, someone to kiss and hug and love. There is a girl that I wish to do all that with, but I don't even know whether she likes me or not. We have been getting closer for the past few months or so, but still…the idea of her actually liking me is still too unrealistic to me…too unbelievable…

I looked around and noted that Annabeth really wasn't here. Other than that, everyone was present. I looked at Percy, and then wondered what he was pondering about when I saw that he was frowning intensely into space.

"Anywhere's fine. Maybe the Chinese restaurant down the street…? As long as I have food to eat, I don't care where or what we eat. Well, unless its goat meat…" Grover said, causing everyone to laugh. Grover has a very deep liking for goats, and can't handle eating goat meat. Whenever he tried to eat, he would burst into tears, whining and blabbering about how goats were so 'cute' and 'majestic' and shouldn't be killed for food.

Five minutes later, almost everyone had agreed on going to the Chinese restaurant to eat. Even though it was neither lunch nor dinner time, no one there cared. The only person who had not agreed was Percy. In fact, he had not said a single word during the whole discussion.

"Yo, hello? Hellooo. Earth to kelp face." Thalia said, waving her hand in front of Percy's face, snapping him out of his daze.

"Huh, oh, I'm fine with anything. Just go ahead and eat wherever you guys want." Percy said with a big smile, and then started to argue with Thalia, calling her 'pinecone face' and stuff. I felt a pang of jealousy, but immediately tried to drown it out. Thalia and Percy were only like Brother and Sister. They have absolutely no interest in becoming a couple.

Still, seeing Percy being able to banter with her so easily, and being so close to her, made me jealous. I wish I could do the same as him.

"Well, it's decided then," Katie exclaimed with a clap. "We're going to Crystal Jade for a meal." Everyone nodded in agreement, and they set out for the restaurant.

"So, how was school today?" A voice from my right asked me. I immediately recognized her voice. Who wouldn't recognize the voice of the girl you have a freaking crush on.

"F-fine. Nothing much happened," I winced mentally at the stutter, but continued on. "The only thing I deem interesting is when Grover almost mixed the wrong chemicals together. If Mr sprout had not stopped him in time, my whole class, including me, would probably be in some random hospital right now looking like overcooked ducks."

Thalia chuckled, and I smiled. Her voice was strong, hard from previous experiences, but yet had gentleness that only a few can detect, which are Percy and I.

Thalia and I continued chatting as we walked down the pavement towards Jade crystal. There was something that made me quite happy though. When I was chatting with Thalia, my eyes had wandered away for a second, and I had spotted Percy staring at us, with a very small smile on his face.

That alone caused me to feel way happier. I had been afraid that Percy wouldn't allow me and her to be close, that he wouldn't approve of me being with her. Even though the smile may have only been shown because he had been happy that Thalia had gotten a close friend other than him, it doesn't mean that he would approve if we ever get into a relationship. Even though Percy isn't her biological brother, I sure as hell knew that I would need to get his approval before I get into a relationship with her. He treated her like his own sister, and I knew that there would be hell to pay if I started going out with her without his consent.

About forty minutes later, we were sitting around a large circular table, with all the food already served on the table. The restaurant only gets busy at night, hence the food was prepared, cooked and served extremely quickly.

Without a word, Grover attacked the fish. (**sorry but I've never been to America and I have no idea what restaurants and food they eat there, so I'm just writing with food I know.**) That signaled the start of the meal. Everyone started to attack the food that they could reach, with Grover already having a large serving of each and every one of the dishes on his plate. We then started talking and discussing about our respective troubles and school life.

Thalia was seated on my right, and Beckendorf on my left. As usual, he and Silena were beside each other, and were feeding each other. You know, the PDA and stuff that totally drives me nuts.

"Nico, would you like some chicken?" Thalia suddenly asked me. I was at a lost of words due to the sudden question, but recovered quickly.

"Yea…but no worries I could take it myself." I said to her, but by then she had already took some chicken and placed it on my plate. A small though at the back of my head had said that that was what couples usually do, but I immediately banished that thought.

"Um…thanks. Here. I know you love them." I placed a bun onto her plate. The bun, though it looks like every other bun, is actually different. Its skin is somewhat crispy and the inside tastes way nicer than normal plain buns.

Thalia smiled at me brightly, and I blushed a little, though she didn't notice as she had already started eating the bun. I smiled slightly and went back to eating my food.

We spent about twenty minutes eating and talking. Thalia and I chatted a lot, which I was immensely elated about. Unlike the others, we talked about projects. Percy and Annabeth weren't the only people who had the same classes every day and sat beside each other in every class. Thalia and I were in the same classes every day and sat beside each other every day too. We were partners in every single project, and sometimes in group-of-four projects, we include Grover and Percy if they are in the same class. Other than that, in pair work, we are always paired up with each other.

"Can we go to lakeside shopping mall? I have to get some stationary, and I'm sure some couples her would like to walk around and shop." Katie said, looking at Clarisse and Chris, then at Silena and Beckendorf, _then _at Frank and Hazel. Whoa, it makes me feel as though I'm a loner, with so many couples inside. Most of the people in our group already has a boyfriend or girlfriend. Grover has Juniper; Jason has Piper…though they do not really show it openly. Katie and Travis can already be a couple with all their love fights every single day and Connor has some girl in another school. The only people who have absolutely no love interest at the moment, at least that's what I think, are Percy and Leo.

"I'm fine with that. Its not like we have anything else to do right now." Chris said, and Clarisse nodded. Silena squealed and kept on talking non-stop about new shoes, and bugged Beckendorf to go with her to buy some shoes. Beckendorf just smiled and said that he would go anywhere she wanted him to go, as long as she was there with him. This made her hug him and say that he was the best boyfriend ever.

That made me extremely jealous. But, my mood was lifted when Thalia asked me to come with her as she needed some help to choose her clothes, as some of her shirts were becoming too small for her. I immediately nodded once she requested, and she gave me a warm smile, which made my face redden slightly, but I turned away so that she won't see my blush.

Ten minutes later, we found ourselves at the lakeside shopping mall. It was one of the most popular shopping malls around the area, and as a result, extremely crowded most of the time. That didn't stop the girls though.

We went as a group, going to each and every shop that each girl wanted. The boys just patiently waited at the back while the girls jumped around the shop and trying to find what they wanted, occasionally calling their boyfriends to help them decide whether it looked good on them or not.

We were going towards the clothing shop as Thalia had requested when I felt someone tense beside me. That someone was none other than Percy.

"What's wrong?" I asked Percy. His face was somewhat scary. His eyes were narrowed, and he was staring at a restaurant. I looked and saw 'eighteen chef". I tried to think up a reason why Percy would react to it so negatively, but came up with no reasonable explanation.

"You guys go on without me," Percy suddenly called out to the group. "Something urgent cropped up and I have to go resolve it. Don't wait for me. I'll see you guys tomorrow." He then turned to me.

"Make sure you choose her clothes well. I'm trusting you." He whispered at my ear before walking away towards the restaurant. I stood there, stunned. Did…did he just say that he trusted me to choose Thalia's clothes?

"What did he say to you?" Thalia asked, snapping me out of my daze. I just shook my head.

"Nothing important. C'mon, lets go to that shop where you want to buy the clothes." I said.

"You're helping me choose, right?" She asked. I nodded and smiled at her, and she smiled back. Damn, why does she have to be so pretty whenever she smiles? I blushed again.

"Y-yea…but I might not be that good, you know? I'm a boy after all…" I said, and kicked myself mentally for stuttering _again._ She laughed.

"Well, I'm not a girly type of person who goes after short skirts and stuff, so it won't matter whatever you choose for me. As long as it's not too girly, I'm fine." She said. The others just snorted and continued to walk.

Thirty minutes later, we walked out of the shopping mall, exhausted. Um, actually, only the boys were exhausted. The funny thing is that the girls, in one way or another, always manages to share the same interests. Originally, Silena and Katie weren't even interested in clothes. After we reached the shop, they went on a rampage throughout the shop, suddenly stating that they also needed some more clothes. However, I did help Thalia choose her clothes. Since Thalia is sort of a dark person, as in she likes black clothes and stuff, I had suggested a kind of tight shirt with a dragon logo on it. The dragon itself was silver in color. I also suggested for her a loose and long-sleeved shirt. Its kind of baggy, but it makes her look cute. Lastly, I suggested a pair of slim jeans and black shorts. The shorts weren't too short, at mid-though area, so it was fine with her. It didn't have anything special on her, but I liked it because…well, you know…I think you can guess.

And right now, I find myself carrying the bags of clothes. She had bought everything I suggested, which made me very pleased. Then she told me to help her carry back to Percy's house, which I learnt a few days ago that it would be her temporary house because of the incident. I agreed happily and readily. I'd do anything for her…mostly. If she told me to strip in public and stuff, I don't think I would do that…though I think Thalia would never ask for that.

"Bye guys! See you guys tomorrow!" The Stoll brothers shouted loudly when we reached the cross-junction where we all needed to separate to get home, causing Katie to whack Travis on the head. I noted that she only whacked Travis and not Connor. Just more proof that she's affectionate to Travis, or at least closer to Travis than she to Connor.

It was already six-thirty. Quite late, and my father…he would totally kill me for this…

I shook my head, and got a little angry at myself. Why the hell do I have to be scared of that shitty excuse of a father? I don't give a fuck about him as long as I'm with Thalia.

Thalia and I walked to Percy's house in silence. It wasn't awkward. More of like a companionable silence. Still, I felt the urge to start a conversation with her. I decided that the topic should be about Percy. That little scene of him leaving while staring at the shop still made me curious.

"Thalia, does Percy have anything to do with the restaurant 'eighteen chef' at the lakeside shopping mall?" I asked her. She looked up, thinking, before shaking her head.

"For the three years I've known him, he had never even glanced at that restaurant. Why do you ask?" She replied back with another question.

"I saw him staring at the restaurant. His face was kind of scary," At this, Thalia laughed, causing me to glare at her. "He then stated that he had something to do. So I was wondering whether he had some person he knew I that restaurant or something." I continued.

"Well, I don't know really. My knowledge of Percy's personal life is actually very shallow," She frowned. "Actually, _all_ of our knowledge about his personal life is very little. He never talked about his family. The only thing I know is that his parents sent him here to study." I nodded, thinking about asking Percy.

"I suggest you don't ask Percy about his past or his problems." Thalia said suddenly, as though she read my mind. I was a little taken aback.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Well…it's because I've tried before. At least a hundred times. He never told me anything. I also respect his privacy… if he doesn't want to tell us, I won't push him. It's not like he needs help or anything." She said.

"Oh…okay. Well, I guess I won't ask him then…" I muttered. Thalia shot me a smile.

She suddenly stopped walking, causing me to stop too. I looked at her questioningly, and then looked at where we were. We had already reached Percy's house. How time flies when you enjoy it…I sighed inwardly.

She took the bags from me and smiled.

"Thanks for helping, Nico. I really appreciate it. I enjoyed the walk and shopping." She said. I smiled. She then suddenly came forward and gave me a peck on the cheek before running to the house, her cheeks a little red, leaving a very shocked and stunned me behind. After staring at Percy's door, where she had gone through, for ten seconds, I slowly smiled and turned away, walking back home.

Well, now I know that I have a slight chance of getting a relationship with her now.

It was the happiest I had felt in a long time.


	17. Not alone anymore

**Heya now this is what i call a quite fast update. Since i have absolutely nothing to do, i just decided to give an early update. I hope this chapter is good enough. I'll check it sooner or later cuz i'm just too lazy to check it right now XD PLs R&R **

**Zoeybird323: Sorry for that...I don't think i'm that good in making people so sad and sullen, but i hope this works? Forgive me for its not so excellent work T.T maybe in future i would write it better.**

**Once again, pls R&R! Jz another disclaimer that all the characters here that you see in the percy jackson book obviously doesn't belong to me, while the ones that you do not see in the Percy jackson book belongs to me lol.  
**

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Annabeth's POV

I sighed as I finally stepped out of the restaurant. My feelings were really low. Working for so many hours once again really brought back many painful memories of the past.

If anyone knew my past, they would really wonder why I'm not in depression or anything that relates to it. Truth is, there was once I had been depressed. Very, extremely depressed that I had cut myself on the arms and wrists before. It was when _he_ broke my trust. Over time, I got used to the pain of betrayal, and managed to control myself. Over the years of pain, loneliness and betrayal, all sorts of negative things, I had built walls around myself, locking all the painful memories and feelings inside. There are only a few times where the walls weaken, and some of it spills out.

During these moments, I will feel really down, and cry a lot. They are not even the full force of my pain, and yet during these moments, I would feel really depressed.

Like now.

Being invited by them, feeling as though I was part of a group of friends again, had brought out my previous memories, memories of another time, another group of friends. That group of friends had betrayed me, and had hurt me the most during these years. Even now, I still cry myself to sleep on some nights because of it. IN the day, I manage to forget about it, being so busy with class and work, but when I'm free, like at night after work, I would think about them, and I would cry.

Cry for the losses I had these many years, cry for the betrayals I had gotten so many times, cry for the pain I had felt in every single second in the past. Cry for everything.

And now, as I walk back home, alone, tears fall down my cheeks. I was alone, still alone, like the past few years. It was one o'clock, and that is no time to be out alone. But I had no choice. I had to work to live. I didn't even get to eat dinner due to the large number of customers that day. It was raining too, and very dark.

That depicted my life in the past, and still in the present. I was always alone, always working to live, without fun and enjoyment. I was always hungry late at night due to my work. I never had someone to pick me up. Not even _him_, who had pretended to care for me cared enough to pick me up for his act.

I walked back slowly, drenched from head to toe, my thoughts depressing. I was still alone, in the dark, cold and hungry. Has anything changed?

I can't really blame others though. Its not like they know me well enough to catch my constant stiffness and fidgeting. Its not like they would know that I was in pain every time I stiffen suddenly. They would think that its just because I'm shy, not anything else. And I was scared that if I told them, they would look down on me, and abandon me like the rest. But, if they do that, it proves that they are not real friends, right?

I don't know, I just don't know anymore. Who should I trust? One can only hold their walls up for that long. They can't hold it forever. Sooner or later, they would break under the pressure, and may even suicide. Without anyone to support them, they would fall.

I had seen it, I had spotted Thalia's pain. Her eyes…I've seen them, though not as bad, but I've seen them lots of times, on the mirror. Her eyes reflected mine; at least, they reflected a part of my pain. She had suffered in the past too. Yet, she seemed okay. Some one must have helped her get through the pain, must have supported her through it. That's why she's so damn happy now, unlike me.

Who could have helped her? I pondered over it. Could that group of friends have helped her in the past? It didn't seem so. Could it be Nico? I had noticed them being very close in the past. Maybe.

One last guess, and that would be none other than Percy. I know she lives at Percy's house, and that they are not related by blood. Thalia must trust Percy so much that she allows herself and her brother to stay in his house. High chances that it was really him that helped her. Due to personal experiences with Percy, my guess is probably right.

I can't say that he hasn't tried to bring me out of my shell. He had walked up to me to get to know me, and never left me even with my somewhat cold greeting to him. In school, he had tried to talk to me a lot, and had even introduced me to his group of friends. I am eternally grateful for that.

But that's not enough. Years of pain cannot be soothed with just a few days or weeks of friendly talk and new friends. He hadn't even asked me what I was busy of, though I can't blame him for that. I would probably have snapped at him if he asked, being too embarrassed to say the truth. That would have probably broken any form of friendship I had with him, and the friends he had introduced. At least he knew how to give personal space.

Still, I wish someone would be here for me right now, to cover me from the rain, to block me from the cold and give me food to eat, to _care_ for me. My entire life, I only had my real mother to care for me for a few years, and after that, it was always me caring for myself. For once, could some one care for me? Even though _he _had cared for me, it doesn't make me feel any better as now I know that it was all fake. Instead, it makes me feel worse.

Then, as I walked, I felt the rain stop pounding in me, and I wondered whether the rain had stopped. Then I realized that it hadn't, and that there was someone behind me, holding an umbrella above my head, blocking the rain. I spun around to se who it was.

I almost fainted in shock.

There he was, right there, holding an umbrella above me. He himself was holding one above his. His eyes were locked onto mine, and I could see the emotions swirling inside. There was some anger, some shock, some pain, but lots of kindness, all directed towards me.

"You finally finished." He said, and that alone almost caused me to break down, not that he didn't know that I was crying already. Even though my whole body was drenched in rain, my eyes were red from crying. He certainly would know that I was crying.

He had seen me. He had waited for me. He wouldn't be here if he had not seen me working at the shop. Somehow, he had found out, and he had stayed back to wait for me. It was one, when almost every student should be sleeping for school, and yet he had waited. I could see that he was tired. His shoulders were drooping a little and his eyes had bags under them, and yet here he was. I almost hugged him, but something stopped me.

"Why…" I was still shocked. This was the first time in three years that someone had picked me up from work, or at least accompanied me, waited for me.

"We went to Lakeside shopping mall. I saw you working by chance, and decided to wait for you. You sure ended late." He said in a light tone. Even at this kind of time, he should be moody, he should be angry that I had ended so late. He should be at home sleeping. But, he was here, trying to lighten the mood.

"Wh-what are you doing here? You should be at home…" I said. He stared right at me, and I saw a little spark of anger inside, though whether it was directed at me or something else, I don't know.

"Well, I decided to wait for you. Its dangerous to walk alone in the dark at this kind of time, you know." He replied. I was shaking, trying hard to control myself. I would not break down in front of him.

"I…" I didn't know how to reply.

"Lets get to shelter first." He said, and nudged me slightly towards a nearby bus station. I obliged, and walked towards the shelter.

When we sat down, he took off his jacket and covered me with it. I looked at him and opened my mouth to tell him to take it back as I didn't want to trouble him, but he beat me to it.

"Don't tell me to take it back. You're shivering and totally wet."

"But I don't want to trouble you…I was stupid enough not to bring my own umbrella so I deserve this…"

"You don't deserve to work all the way into after midnight, and then get drenched from head to toe without eating dinner just because you forgot to being an umbrella." Wow, he really knows how to debate…

We sat in silence for a few more minutes, and then he suddenly we should go back home, and that I should take a bath and change into dry clothings before I fall sick. We then made our way back.

We walked in silence. Only the sound of the pitter-patter of the raindrops could be heard. When we reached our neighborhood, he spoke up.

"You go back first. I'll drop by later." He said, and without waiting for my reply, walked back to his house. I stared at his retreating back for a few more seconds before turning and rushing back home.

When I had closed the door behind me, I cried. This time, and for the first time ever, I cried in joy. I was so elated, so happy. Someone,_ someone_ had finally cared. Who knew, that just two to three weeks here, I had found someone who cared.

Fifteen minutes later, I heard the bell rang. By then, I had already bathed and washed up. I opened the door and there he stood, holding a bag on his hand. I couldn't help but look at him questioningly.

"I know you're hungry, so I made some food for you. Eat up. I'll wait for you tomorrow morning." He said.

"Thank you…" I said as I took the bag.

"Its nothing. I'll see you later, then." He said, and turned around to walk back to his house.

"Wait…" I called out, and he stopped. He then turned around and looked raised an eyebrow at me.

"Why are you helping me?" I couldn't help but ask. No one helped me that much before, and I truly didn't know why anyone would do this.

"What are friends for? I'm helping you because you are my friend, and I care for you." He said as he shrugged. Friend. When was the last time I really felt like I had one?

"I won't tell anyone. Don't worry. I understand why you didn't tell anyone why you were busy. Just remember that if you ever need someone to be there for you, I'll be there. I hold my friends in utmost importance." He said with a bright smile. It warmed my heart.

"Than you again…I guess I'll see you tomorrow." I said with a small smile. He nodded and walked back to his house. I then closed the door and walked to the dining table, now with a big smile.

I don't know how much he can be trusted, or whether he'll betray me or anything. But, for now, I will just concentrate on the present, and know that someone out there cares for me, and is there to support me.


	18. Taking care of matters

**Hahaha i'm crazily updating so quickly. Here's another chapter for you guys :) enjoy and R&R! BTW THANKS FOR THE AWESOME REVIEWS!  
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Percy's POV

I frowned as I saw Annabeth stagger out of her house. That's right. _Stagger_. Her shoulders were drooping, her head was bent down towards the ground and she was gripping her doorframe tightly, as though she would fall if she let go. I don't think I'm that far from the truth.

It was seven. Thalia and Jason had gone off before me as I told them I had something to do. That was to wait for Annabeth, and to make sure she wasn't sick or anything due to the rain a few hours ago. Looks like she really fell sick.

"Annabeth?" I called out. She slowly looked up, and what I saw worried me. Her face was pale. Really pale. She had bags under her eyes too. She tried to smile, but all she managed to do was curve her lips up very, very slightly. Then, her head dropped back down again.

I rushed forward as she stepped out of the house, worried that she would fall once she let go of the doorframe. True enough, her legs gave out under her immediately once she let go of the doorframe. Luckily, I was already beside her and immediately stopped her from falling.

"I…I'm sorry for troubling you…I'm just not feeling well right now…" Annabeth whispered out. She was breathing heavily, and when I grabbed her shoulder to support her, I could feel her entire weight leaning against me. My frowned deepened by the second. There was no mistaking it. She was definitely sick.

"Lets get you back inside." I said as I turned our bodies around towards her house and walked back to her house. Her door was still open.

"No…I have…I have to go to school and then…then I need to work…" She whispered softly in between heavy breaths. Seeing her like this, so sick, so deathly pale, so weak, and still wanting to go to school, wanting-no, needing to work, made me angry. Not at her, but at the circumstances that she had to make her so desperate to work and go to school, and at whatever caused the circumstances in the first place. No one deserved this.

"No," I said, my voice firm. "You need to rest. You're obviously not fit to go to school, much less to work. You need rest."

"But…" she muttered in protest, but I couldn't hear the rest as her voice was too soft, though I could guess what she was saying.

"Don't worry. I'll settle things for you. Lets get you to bed first. You need to rest." I said as I lead her to a room with its door open. I presumed it was her room since it had a bed inside. Knowing her finances, I doubt she would have had a second bed for guests.

After settling her down on her bed, I put my hand on her forehead, and whistled softly.

"You're burning. Damn it you shouldn't even have left the bed!" I said. She shook her head.

"No…if I skip work…" She said softly, trying to get up, but was obviously too weak to. I frowned at her and said in a slightly reprimanding tone.

"You're staying, and I'm gonna get some stuff that should make you better. Just try to sleep for now." I then turned around and started walking to her kitchen, but stopped as I heard her say something. It was really soft, but the house was really quiet anyway.

"But…you have…school…" I turned around and smiled at her when she said that.

"I don't care about school, or at least not as much as your health. I told you yesterday. I care for you, and I hold friends to the utmost importance. You, and all my other friends, are more important than school." She remained quiet after I said that, though she was staring at me as though I had just said something shocking. I then turned around and walked to the main door to lock it before going to the kitchen to find a cloth a cloth.

Fifteen minutes later, I was sitting beside a sleeping Annabeth, with a wet cloth on her forehead. She looked so frail and weak. I wanted to kill whatever made her this way, just that its quite impossible to kill the rain. Although, there are one or two I can release my wrath on…

I knew her boss. Eighteen chefs…the boss of that outlet- the one at lakeside shopping mall- was someone who owed me a debt. I never knew what to do with it until now…

Though, now is still kind of early for the restaurant to open. I decided to wait for two more hours before going to the shopping mall to look for the boss. I then decided to explore the house.

It was kind of bare. No pictures of friends, no pictures of families, only a sofa and a television in the living room, a dining table in the kitchen and some cutlery. Nothing else. I also noticed that she had an extra for almost anything. Other than the furniture, she had a lot of spare stuff. She had two of everything.

Two hours later , after ensuring that everything was fine and good, like a meal on the table beside Annabeth in case she woke up while I was gone, and a newly wet cloth on her forehead, I took one set of keys from the box where she stored all her keys and left the house. She sure had a lot of spare keys. I counted at least four sets of spare made her be so careful about everything? Pondering about what the answer would be, I left the house, locking the door and walking towards Lakeside shopping mall. I was going to have a serious talk with mr Robert.

Ten minutes later, I reached the shopping mall. Since it was only about eight to nine in the morning, not a lot of people were in the shopping mall. I made my way to the restaurant, thinking about the demands I was going to make. I'm sure he would make it possible.

When I reached the restaurant, I was greeted by the sight of a few waitresses and waiters rushing around, setting up tables chairs, making sure the place was ready by the time customer came. I walked towards the boss's office without hesitation. The waiters and waitresses who noticed me simply glanced at me for a second before turning back to continue doing what they were doing.

When I knocked on the door, a cold voice answered me. It didn't surprise me though. Outwardly, he was always cold and calculating, but on the inside, he was quite kind and caring.

"Come in." I smiled at the voice. It brought back a couple of old memories. Its not like I was a very close friend to him, but I still remember the first time he used that voice on me, and how much it changed when I revealed that I had prove that he, and the whole restaurant outlet and probably the whole company, was innocent of a crime that was blamed on them. He had gone from the cold, calculating voice to a shocked, small voice, then a warm and caring voice.

"Hey, Robert. It's been a while, hasn't it?" I said with a big smile as I walked into the office He looked up at me in surprise when he heard my voice. He stared at me wide-eyed, and then gave me a big, wide smile.

"If it isn't Percy Jackson! What brings you here?" He said as he stood up and shook my hand.

"Well, I won't beat around the bush. You remember the favor I did for you last year? You and your company." I said. His smile didn't wane. He must have been expecting it sometime, considering how smart he is.

"Yes. We are eternally grateful of you. Even though many employees do not know of your deed, we higher-ups know of your deed, and are eternally grateful for it." He said. I nodded.

"So, what do you need?" He inquired with a questioning look on his face. "You need money? We can spare you a million or more since this whole company still stands because of you." He said. I shook my head.

"No, I don't need money, but it may involve some, for another person." I said seriously. Hearing my tone, his face became serious.

"So, what is it you need?" He asked.

"I heard that you recently had a new employee. Annabeth, right?" I asked. His face lit up in recognition at the name, and smiled.

"Yes. I got to say, she's truly one of the best waitress I've seen in a long time." He said in a happy tone.

"Yes. About that, I need you to give her some special treatment." To this, his smiled dissipated, and he frowned slightly. I explained further.

"She needs time to study, to relax and to enjoy her time. I won't ask for much. Maybe one to two days of break per week, not subsidizing her pay even if she gets a break, would be enough. By the way, she won't be coming for work today."

"Why?" He asked, his frown deepened. I sighed.

"She's sick. She had to walk in the rain just this morning, at 1am. If you remember, she left work around that time, right?" His eyes widened in realization.

"She's really overworking herself. She works to have enough money to just survive. Actually, if its possible, I want you to give her a pay rise. She really needs one." I said. He seemed to ponder over it a bit, than nodded his head in agreement.

"She did work very hard yesterday, and she was the last employee to leave the restaurant yesterday. She did the most compared to other waiters and waitresses. Yes, yes I'll allow that. May I know how you know her?" He agreed, and then asked me.

"She's my neighbor and she is also the person who sits beside me in every one of my class. Surprising, huh?" His face lit up in surprise.

"Wait, she's your neighbor? Are you taking care of her now since you're currently not at school as you should be?" He asked.

"Yea, and I have to get back to her. So, will you inform her about it? And also I'm sure she will come on Saturdays and Sundays too. All in all, she needs quite a high pay. For her needs, and some of her wants. I'm sure you can do that?" I asked. He nodded.

"One more thing. Don't tell her that it was me that did this favor. Just say that you realized it and stuff. You're smart enough to come up with a reasonable excuse." He gave me a weird look when he said that, then smiled widely at me.

"I understand. You know, even though you're only sixteen, its like you have a maturity far above that." I smiled at the compliment.

"Thanks. Well, I got to go. Bye." I said with a wave and a smile before turning back and leaving the office, back to Annabeth's house.

Once I entered the house, I immediately locked the door and walked swiftly to Annabeth's room. It was still quite early, around ten. But, once I opened her room's door, I heard a soft whisper coming from her.

"Per…cy?" Her voice was soft and weak, but it was better than just now. At least it wasn't that shaky now.

"When did you wake up?" I asked as I walked to her bedside, picking up the cloth from her forehead. I touched her forehead and sighed in relief.

"Your fever's better now. Next time, bring an umbrella." I said with a grin. She smiled weakly back at me.

"Yea…I will…Percy…shouldn't you be at school…right now?" She asked. I smiled at her and nodded.

"I should be, but after seeing you collapse right outside your house, you think I'll go for school?" I said. She looked at me for a second, and closed her eyes.

"Thank you.." She whispered, in a shaky voice. I don't think that was because she was sick. I then went out of the room to get another wet cloth for her, leaving her some space. She needed it,

Because, the last thing I saw before she closed her eyes, were wet eyes. She was going to cry. Once again, and I know that I'll be doing that a lot in the future, I cursed whatever made her think that she didn't deserve kindness, whatever that made her such a stranger to kindness directed at her.

I made another promise. I'll protect her and care for her like a younger sister, from now till forever.

I didn't know that our relationship would get far above that.


	19. A date?

**Hi guys. Wow, i really update weekly now, and i sometimes even update more than once a week XD when i have nothing to do, i always write this story. For everyone, please be patient with me. This story is not close to ending anytime soon, as you all can see. I'm wondering whether i would even wrte till chapter 50+...pls bear with me. It is, after all, life's complications. I have planned a lot of complications for this story, so really, bear with me ...**

**well, here's the next chapter. PLs R&R :D THALICOO  
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Thalia POV

"Where's Percy and Annabeth today?" Beckendord asked as he sat down with his tray. It was break time. "I haven't seen them all day."

I tilted my head in thought. He had been staring at Annabeth's house this morning…maybe they had something on. He can't be sick or anything. He was hale ad hearty this morning. He also wasn't the type to skip school for nothing, though whenever there _is_ something important, he would not hesitate to skip school.

"Let me call him and ask." I said. I then took out my phone and called. After several seconds of waiting, he finally picked up.

"Hi Thalia. I suppose you're calling me to find out why I'm not in school right now." His voice rang out of the phone.

"Yea. Why didn't you come? You said you would follow up later on." I asked, curiosity lacing my voice.

"Annabeth is sick today, so I stayed back to care for her. I also had to settle some important matters. I'll see you later tonight, okay?" He said over the phone. I sighed. As usual, he always did things without anybody knowing.

"Okay then, I'll see you later. By the way, I may not be coming back early. I'm having lunch with Nico." I said over the phone. On my right, I felt Nico shift a little at the mention of his name. He must be nervous about this…it almost sounded like a date.

"Alone?" His voice now filled with something unidentifiable due to the phone.

My face reddened slightly. It was kind of embarrassing to admit it with said boy just beside me.

"Yes. The others are quite busy. We're the only free ones today." Technically, that was true. Silena and Beckendorf were going for their lunch, and we don't want to disturb them. Clarice and Chris are going for their own lunch too…

Oh gods, now that I think about it, all the couples in our group are going for their own lunch…

And me and Nico…

"Well, have fun then. Hope you enjoy yourselves." He said in a teasing tone, and before I could retort, he hanged up. I scowled and glared at the phone in my hand.

"Um Thalia?" Nico called. My annoyance simmered down. He always managed to cool me down, even though I don't think he knows that.

"Yea?"

"What did he say?" At this, my scowl deepened slightly. I then huffed in exasperation.

"All you need to know is that he's fine with it." I said. I could visibly see Nico relax. He was nervous. I wonder why…it couldn't be because…he was scared that Percy wouldn't like us to take lunch together, just the two of us? What does that imply…?

Truth be told, I was almost as nervous as him when I asked Percy. I had always liked him, and it only deepened over he three years we spent together. He was always there for me, and always supporting me. No one could ever compare to how much he had done for me, except Percy. And Percy is like an elder brother to me, and frankly, if we don't get his approval, chances are that we won't be a happy couple, if we ever made it that far.

Percy…is not a person to trifle with. If you are his friend, you are very, very lucky. If you are his enemy…you'll need more luck than the luck we have as his friend. We learnt that when he stepped into Silena's and Beckendorf's misunderstanding…the person who caused it…well, she wasn't a happy girl when she moved away from here.

"Well, that's good." He said. I then heard someone chuckle across the table. I then glared at Travis. He was snickering as he looked at us, but stopped immediately when Katie used her book and smacked him from behind, telling him to stop laughing for no reason. He scowled and pouted like a spoilt child. Katie just rolled her eyes and looked at me with a small smile. She knew my liking for Nico. I silently mouthed "thank you". She nodded and went to get her food after putting her books down beside Silena.

I swear, those two really did look good together. I wish that they could get together faster.

Though, I should speak for myself.

Someone then sent me a message. The message was from beckendorf.

_"Percy let you two?" _It read.

_"Yea. I'm soo lucky."_ I texted back.

_ "Grats, sis. If he let you, he most probably is silently supporting you two. Enjoy yourselves later." _ I smiled at the message. Nico was in an intense argument with Grover over whether Peanut butter or Jam went nicer with bread. Really, some boys are way too idiotic.

Though, I've fallen for one of those boys.

"Finally…" I muttered as I stood up to pack my bag. The day had been longer than normal. To me anyway. It was most probably due to the fact that I was extremely eager to get on with the lunch. I was shaking with excitement. We had gone out many times before alone, but I still couldn't get enough of it. Every single one was like blissful heaven to me.

"Ready to go?" Nico asked once I had packed my stuff. I nodded and smiled at me, and got one in return.

While we were walking, we chatted about everything. How was life, about our classes, gossip about certain people, complain about loads of work, talk about what food we like and stuff like that. Our venue was at Waterfront Street. It had a lake there, and a few restaurants around the lake. We were going to eat a Japanese restaurant called "Sakae sushi". There weren't many Japanese restaurants in the part of the country. Hence, it was usually crowded. Luckily, we had already booked a table for ourselves.

When we reached there, I was slightly amused by the sight. On the lake, there were ferries and boats traveling across the place. There were even a few people dragon boating across the lake. The restaurants around it were full if people, and there were people bustling around the place. We made our way to the Japanese restaurant, and was greeted by a long queue. Nico whistled slightly and his eyes widened at the length of the queue.

"Lucky we booked the seats. It probably takes more than three hours just to get in." He said as we walked towards the restaurant counter.

"Yea. Actually, I wonder how we even got the seats. I thought that some others may have already booked the whole place." I said. He shrugged.

After talking to the clerk at the counter, we got directed to our seats. It was at the side of the place, the one facing the river. The glass was transparent, so we could see all the ferries and people kayaking and stuff. It was kind of interesting. I stared at the boats racing around on the lake, and the people kayaking and dragon boating, thinking about how it would feel like to do any one of those. My life with my mother didn't exactly give me any opportunities to have this kind of activities.

"What do you want to eat? The food here are all so weird…its my first time here…" Nico's voice snapped me out of my daze. I then picked up the menu and stared at it. The sushi on the menu all looked raw…I wonder how anyone could eat those. Maybe I should try…

"Well, I'm gonna take some of these…um…ramen…and maybe a Hanamaki too…hey that one looks nice too, why don't we try it? Hmmm…" Nico and I discussed over what to eat. The food was all just so…weird. Well, it was Asian, after all. I hardly know anything about Asian food. Western food were always cooked or fried. It was a totally new experience to me.

Five minutes later, we finally decided upon what to eat, and ordered it. When the food came a while later, I was feeling rather excited, and also a bit scared. I was afraid that the sushi would make me vomit…

"You eat it first. You're the man here." I said, and chuckled at his face when he heard that. He then sighed and used a chopstick to pick up the sushi. I was laughing all the way. He didn't know how to handle the chopstick well, and had many failed attempts on trying to get the sushi. After about twenty tries, he finally managed to get the hang of it and picked the sushi up.

Slowly, he dipped the sushi in the sauce, and then placed it in his mouth. I was staring intently at his face, watching out for any signs of disgust or discomfort.

The reaction he had was not what I expected. His eyes had widened, and he suddenly started chewing it quickly. After he had swallowed it down, he immediately praised the food,

"Its excellent! I never knew that raw food could be so delicious. Go on, try some." He beckoned me. I obliged, and picked up the chopstick. Now, it was his turn to laugh at me. It really was unnatural for me, for us, to handle these two stick-like things.

When I ate the sushi, my reaction was close to Nico's. My eyes widened in wonder and shock. It was…just….way too delicious. Unbelievable. I can't believe I've missed this kind of food for the past 16 years of my life!

Then came the main dishes. Their ramen was extremely filling. I could not even finish the whole thing. Nico's, on the other hand, was udon, and he finished it in less than five minutes. I teased him of being a fat [ig, which made him playfully punch me as I passed him my remaining food. Now I know, Udon is not filling, whereas Ramen was way too filling.

"Well, I guess we're done. I'll go and pay." Nico said as he placed the last Hanamaki into his mouth and stood up. I immediately stood up too, and protested.

"Wait, who said you were paying? I'll pay." I said. He frowned slightly.

"No, I'll pay. I ate the last dish too, so its only right."

"No, I'll pay. I suggested this place. The bill isn't cheap too."

"No, let me pay. Money is not really a problem to me anyway."

"I don't care. I should be paying, financial difficulties or not."

"No, I'll-" He suddenly stopped, and sighed. I tilted my head and looked at him in curiosity and annoyance. The whole pay thing was annoying.

"Fine, since neither of us will back down, lets just each pay half." He said. I thought about it for a moment, and nodded with a smile. With both of us appeased, we walked to the counter to pay.

Not so long after that, we went to the waterfront shopping mall. (**Pardon me for my lame shopping mall names**) I had asked Nico whether we could go there. I had to buy some new shoes and maybe an accessory or two. I was afraid that he would not want to come and go home. After all, boys rarely did want to shop, and hence I was surprised when he nodded his head. I had been so happy than I squealed and hugged him.

Oh gods, the hugging part was embarrassing. We were both red in the face when we quickly separated. Only after ten minutes of walking in silence did we start talking to each other again, and that was because I suddenly grabbed his arm and dragged him to a nearby shoe shop in the shopping mall.

When I was shopping, I often asked Nico how was the stuff that I chose. His opinion really mattered. He always said that it was good. I never knew I had such good taste, or maybe its just because…

Around six, after spending three hours shopping, we found ourselves in front of a plush toyshop. Nico was carrying all the bags for me. I had already bought two new pairs of jeans, one T-shirt, a necklace with a dragon keychain, and a new pair of black converse shoes. We were about to walk past it when one of the plush toy caught my eye.

"Oh gods! Nico, can we stop for a while. I soooo want that!" I more or less squealed as I pointed at a fluffy dog plush toy. Nico just smiled at me and nodded. I smiled brightly back at him and walked in to get the plush toy. Nico followed.

Just when I was about to pay at the counter, Nico suddenly handed the money to the cashier. I stared at him. He merely smiled.

"My gift to you." He said, and I suddenly felt hot. A gift…from him. I started to hold the toy extremely carefully. And I looked down, my hair covering my face. I didn't want him to see my tomato face.

"Thalia?" He called. I breathed deeply and cooled myself down before looking up, smiling widely and cheerfully.

"Thank you. I really like it!" I exclaimed and hugged the toy. He smiled a little sheepishly.

"You're welcome. We should get you home now." He said. I looked at the time, and was surprised. I didn't know that we had spent that much time out. Time sure flies when you are having an enjoyable one. I pouted slightly and scowled. It probably looked funny, as Nico laughed, causing me to lightly punch his arm. We then started to walk back to my home, or Percy's house, talking about everything under the sun again.

Fifteen minutes later, we reached Percy's house. I looked at Annabeth's house and noticed that only two lights were turned on. One was the kitchen, while the other one had curtains drawn. That was probably Annabeth's room. Usually, people would be worried when a boy and a girl are alone in a house, but knowing Percy, he wouldn't so anything improper. And by the look of it, with all his house lights off, he should still be at Annabeth's.

"I'll take that now. Thanks a lot for the help. I said with a smile as I took the bags from his hands. He waved and shook his head,

"Nah, wasn't any trouble at all." I smiled when he said that. That was sweet. Really.

"I really enjoyed today. I'll see you tomorrow then." I said with a large, wide, happy smile. It really was one of the best days of my life. He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, and smiled back at me.

I don't know what made me do it, but I suddenly stepped forward and hugged him. After two seconds, I stepped back, face all red. His was too.

"Well…uh…you should go in now…uh…bye…" Nico stammered his way through. I wonder how he could even talk. I was sooo embarrassed. I managed to chock out a few words though.

"Um…Yea…see ya…" I said. I then turned around and rushed to the house, leaving an embarrassed Nico behind. I was mentally berating myself for doing that all the way back to the house.

When I was back in the house, I rested my back on the door and slid to the floor, a tear sliding down my face.

What have I done? I could have just ruined whatever friendship we have had for the past three years. _What have I done?_

I closed my eyes and prayed to the gods. I hope everything will be fine, though on the inside, I really doubted so.


	20. Friendship, care and trust

**Halo guys! :D This is quite a fast update, don't you think? You know, i'm kinda hoping for more reviews, so maybe 150 reviews? I hope i'm not asking for too much...anyway this is PErcabeth :) quite a lot of people want it so i'll get on with it. I may post the next chapter by thi sunday or next monday, depending on the number of reviews i get...they give me motivation, so pleas, R&R for mine and your sake :)))  
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**I also noticed that my chapters are getting longer...its because we're finally getting into the story, past the intro part XD  
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**Annabeth's POV**

I groaned as I sat up form the bed, thoughts still fuzzy. Where am I? What am I doing here? What time was it? I massaged my aching neck and groaned again. I must have slept in that position for a long time. If not, my neck would not be aching right now.

I frowned as I tried to recall about what had happened the past few hours…or days. I was…sick? I had staggered out of the house…wanted to go to school…fainted…there was someone there to catch me. Who…who…? I also woke up once in a while…there was someone caring for me…

I turned around and spotted a tray of food on the table at my bedside. All the memories suddenly rushed back into my head, causing me to have a headache. I groaned and grabbed my head. My eyes then widened in shock and realization. I was in my house. Percy had been caring for me. He missed school for me. He knows about my job too. Oh gods…

Just then, the door opened, causing me to jerk back in shock. I then looked at the person at the doorway, and there he was, his hand holding a wet handkerchief. That must be for me…

His eyes widened slightly at the sight of me up, but he recovered quickly. He then gave me a smile as he walked towards me.

"You're finally up. You've been in bed for two days, you know." Percy said as he arranged the pillow behind me so I can rest on it properly. I, on the other hand, was staring at him in shock. Two days? TWO DAYS?

"What?! I've been down for two days! Oh no, I have to go to work now. If I don't, my pay would be cut, and I wouldn't have enough money to pay…" I stopped when I finally realized that Percy was listening to everything I say. He was staring at me, and I at him. Mentally though, I was berating myself and practically kicking my mental ass for spouting all that. I could hope that he couldn't guess what I had to pay for, but being the sharp and smart boy he was, he most probably guessed it already.

"I'm sure your boss will understand. For now, go and rest. You overwork yourself too much." Percy said. I shook my head, and opened my mouth to protest, but the words caught in my throat as I saw him glaring at me.

"You. Will. Rest. I will not allow you to go out of this house until you are fully recovered." He said seriously, somewhat brotherly too. (**I'm sorry for the guy who doesn't want this brother sister relationship…I'm building their relationship using that as a stepping stone sorry :/)**

"But…" I tried to persist, but faltered when I saw his face. It was stern, and it really looked brotherly to me…a brother…to others, its just a word. To me, its far more than just a word.

It represents someone who is close to you, someone who cares for you deeply. Never in my life, safe my mother, has anyone cared very deeply for me. Well, _he _did…but really…it was all a fake…

Is Percy's also an act just to get close to me? I no longer trust my judgement anymore…but its not like he and I were in a relationship or anything…

"Eat your food. You need to eat if you want to recover quickly." Percy said. I studied the contents on the tray. There was a bowl of porridge, some chicken floss, some beans and some kind of small fried fish I have seen before but never did try…never had the money or time to…

Percy caught me staring at the food in wonder, and proceeded to give an explanation.

"I picked up an Asian culinary course last year. Asian food are actually quite nice, you know? Go on and try it. You'll love it…and since I personally made this…anyone will love this." He finished with a somewhat teasing cocky smile. That made me laugh softly.

"Yea, then ten hours later, I might have to camp in the toilet…" I gave a sarcastic remark. His eyes widened in mock hurt.

"Oh, such cruel words to a master chef. Perhaps I shouldn't poison you with my poisonous food that would make you camp in the toilet and take the food away…" He said in fake sadness. I laughed and shook my head. When have I ever gotten so close to him…was it because of the incident three days ago…when he picked me up, when I was alone in the rain, at midnight?

All I know was that it was the first time in these many years that I have felt hat happy and free. I couldn't feel my usual shyness anywhere. Have I already trusted him that much?

Than a thought hit me. I was out for two days, right? And if he was taking care of me now…and it was 12pm…did that mean that he had been staying in this house for the past forty-eight hours just to take care of me?

"Have you been staying here for the past two days to take care of me?" I asked suddenly. He looked a bit surprised at the question.

"Well, I did go back to my house to fetch my recipe book this morning," he said with a slight smile. I chuckled. "and also to check on Thalia." At this, he frowned.

"What's the matter?" I asked. He glanced at me, and then shook his head.

"Thalia…well, I'll tell you after I find out what happened. You should meet her one day. Well, to answer your first question, other than going out for one to two hours, I spent most of my time here. I couldn't just leave you alone here when you are so sick tat you fainted right at your doorstep, now could I?" He said. Happiness flooded me when he said that. I smiled widely and thanked him. He just waved it off, saying that it was no trouble at all. He did that for all his friends, when they asked for him.

Percy then went out of the room for a moment, stating that he had to get a small table for me to eat on the bed. No matter how much I tried to persuade him to go home, I could not make him listen.

I took the time to observe my room. Nothing much had changed. Just the tray of food and a chair from the dining room was new in the room. Percy must have sat on the chair when he was caring for me. It warmed my heart to know that someone cared for me that much. I then felt tears threatening to flow, and immediately restrained myself. I didn't want to worry Percy.

A minute later, Percy appeared back with a small table. He then placed it in front of me, and then placed the tray of Asian food on it. I slowly picked up the spoon and observed the porridge carefully, taking in every detail, and then doing the same for all the other dishes on the tray. Suddenly, I heard a laugh coming from Percy.

"What's so funny?" I asked and glared at him. He took two to three seconds to stop laughing, and chocked out an answer.

"Its just that…you look so funny when you were looking at the food. It was as though you thought that they could kill you or something." That remark made me stick my tongue out at him. Wait, what? I…what's happening to me? I…am actually having a normal conversation? When have I ever been able to do that…?

Regardless, I was still happy for the change. I no longer felt that overwhelming shyness and discomfort around him. It's probably because he knows one of my secrets…and I don't know why, but I trust him with it. He was also the first person in this place to show me that much kindness…maybe that's why…

I scooped some porridge up and slowly put it in my mouth, ignoring the not-so-silent chuckles that Percy made. When I finally tasted it, I was amazed. How…how can…rice be so soft…and yet so nice?

I know that people would just say that it was possible, but I never had enough money or time to explore on food. I usually just relied on junk food and fast food. Nothing else.

I then took some chicken floss and mixed it with a scoop of porridge before putting it in my mouth. I was amazed yet again. So this is how Asian food tastes like! It's delicious! The beans and the fried small fishes, which I learnt from Percy to be ikan bilis, were also very tasty. It was one of the best foods I have ever taken in my life!

Though that's probably because I never had the opportunity to try out a large variety of food…no, no negative thoughts now, Annabeth Chase.

After ten minutes, I finally finished gulping down all the food. Percy then took the tray, with bowl and plates and all.

"Wait," I called out when he started towards the door. He turned around and looked at me questioningly. "Let me wash the dishes. You've already done too much for me." I said. He stared at me for a moment, as though trying to spot something, and then smiled.

"Its no problem at all. You're the sick one here, so you rest. I'll be back in a minute." He said, and without waiting for my answer, he walked out of the room. I smiled to myself, and hugged my bolster. He really was kind…

The rest of the day was mainly talking about school and friends. Percy revealed to me that the group of friends he had introduced to me- Silena, Beckendorf, Clarisse, etc.- were all extremely popular people in school, even to the seniors. Grover was one of the best players in the school's basketball team. Beckendorf was considered a legend in the IT resource department. Clarisse was the school's rugby captain. Travis and Connor, though not good in any Co-curricular activities, were known as "The Unbeatable Pranksters". Hearing about the exploits from Percy, I know that they really live up to their title.

There was also Thalia, but he only said that in the past, she was quite unfriendly and got into many fights, thus known as one of the best fighters in school, and one of the scariest too. Nico was popular for something totally weird. He always seemed to appear out of nowhere, according to Percy. Percy told me that Nico was the only person The Stoll brothers could never prank, save Percy himself. The problem was that Nico was way to invisible for the Stoll brothers to prank.

I never knew that they were all so popular. My head was down most of the time, so I probably didn't notice all the stares directed at the group. But, when I asked Percy why he was popular, he said that he wasn't. I wonder whether that's true…I probably would have to ask someone else.

He also talked about all the funny stuff that happens in or about the group. To the group, Grover was known as an international eater. He talked about Beckendorf building a miniature robot dog, which ended up jumping into Grover's food, which made Grover whine for days about soup staining his shirt. There was also once that Chris 'slipped' on some invisible force and crashed into Clarisse, 'accidentally' kissing her.

Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours. When I checked the time a few hours later, I was shocked to find out it was already nine. I knew I had dinner at six, but I didn't know that three hours had passed that quickly.

"I should be going back now. I have something to ask Thalia." Percy said as he stood up from the chair. I had to say, I was kind of disappointed. Having someone to talk and joke with…I hadn't had that opportunity for the last couple of years. This was the first time in so long. I was secretly wishing that he would invite me over to his house or something. Anything to give us more time to talk.

"Hey, Annabeth," he called. I turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "Come by my house sometime. I'd like to introduce you to my inner circle of friends. You've already seen them, but I trust them the most, and I know that they would certainly treat you well." My heart leaped at that. He really did invite me! I couldn't help but smile brightly at him, not that I was resisting.

"Thank you so much. I'll try…if I can ever find the time…" My smile slowly disappeared as I thought about my daily routine. I wouldn't have the time even if I did want to go…

"I'm sure you'll find a time. Don't give up hope. I know that your work would take up a lot of time, considering the time you went home from work that day," He said, patting my head as though I was a little putting girl. "Don't give up hope. You never know when a miracle might come." I caught a twinkle of mischievousness in his eyes, but I had no idea what it was about.

We then walked towards the main door. At first, he had protested against me walking without his support, but due to his caring for me when I was sick, I really felt fine. Actually, I felt better than I had in years.

"Well, here are your keys." Percy said to me as he stepped out of the house. I shook my head and pushed his hand back towards him with a smile.

"Keep it. You're invited to my house anytime." I said. Wait, WHAT DID I JUST DO? He was staring at me in surprise and utter astonishment. Go figure.

"Um, you sure about this?" He said, waving the keys. I nodded. Why am I doing this again? He looked back at his house for a moment. A light was on. He then turned back and took out something from his pocket. It was his set of keys. And then handed it to me. Now it was my turn to stare at him.

"Why…?" I said, unable to make a full sentence.

"Well, since you've given me that much, I should repay the favor, shouldn't I?" He replied with a grin. I stared at him for a moment longer before shaking my head vigorously. Someone actually trusted me that much? Was this really happening? Anything could happen with this exchange, and yet…why didn't I feel worried? Do I really already trust him that much?

Of course, the answer was yes. I wouldn't give him the keys if I didn't. And he was trusting me too. I never felt that important to someone in my life.

"How will you inside your house without your keys?" I asked in wonder.

"Well, someone's in the house, so I will be fine." He said.

"Thanks! I'll be seeing you then." I said with a large smile. He returned it before turning around and walking back to is house. When he reached his doorstep, he knocked on the door and waved at me for one last time. I waved back and watched as I saw Jason opening the door and letting Percy in. I closed the door once Percy's was closed.

My smile was still on my face. Thinking back on the day, my smile, if possible, grew wider.

It really was the happiest day of my entire life. Really.

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**GUYS LOOK AT THIS! The next chapter would not be percabeth...i can't possibly make percabeth in every chapter, you know. The next chapter may be abit like romance to you, but i assure you that it is all brotherly. Some of you may hate it, i'm sorry, but really, i like Percy being the one to support Thalia. In the book, the boy she was closest with, and really treated like a brother, was Percy, or so i think...anyway, please don't suddenly leave this story just because of the next chapter...**


	21. Finally, they get together

**HAHAHA OKAY this chapter's ending is kinda lame and stupid which makes me laugh at its stupidity, but i couldn't find a way to end it properly, so ta-da! HAHA okay anyway, this chapt is not Percabeth. Sorry for all those fans out there wanting one, but i cant make EVERY chapter a Percabeth! Well, enjoy this! Its Thalico! PLEASE PLEASE bear with me for a while. I'll try to post more percabeth soon.**

**PLS R&r!  
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**Disclaimer(i do this once in a while): All the chars that can be found in the percy jackson book obviously belongs to rick riordan, while those that are not found belongs to me. I still don't get why so many people care to write disclaimers since they are so obvious but i'll just write for the sake of it.  
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Percy's POV

I can't believe it. She already trusted me that much? So much that she would even give me one of her house keys? I smiled at the thought.

Thinking back on the past few weeks, we _have_ been talking a lot to each other, getting to know each other and slowly but surely building a solid bond of friendship, but for her to entrust me with her keys just less than a month after we met, it really meant a lot. She must really trust me a lot to do that, and I was happy about it.

And she wasn't the only one. Over the weeks, I found out that she is quite an innocent girl. She revealed very little about her past life, which was understandable considering her current circumstances, but by the way she acted, anyone could tell that she wasn't like one of those cunning bitches that goes around backstabbing people. Do you know how hard it is to find those kinds of friends nowadays?

My train of thoughts were broken when I saw Jason's panicked face as he looked at me

"What's wrong?" I asked, my smile dissipating and a frown appearing on my face. He looked at me, wide-eyed, as though something really bad has happened. That lit a spark of worry in me.

"Its… its Thalia. She's crying in her room now! She…she won't let me in no matter how hard I try! Please, you gotta do something! She's been like that since yesterday, and she didn't even come out of her room for the whole of today! She hasn't even eaten anything yet!" He spilled out everything he had to say unstoppably. His tone panicked and filled with worry and fear.

"Calm down! Go and get something to drink and wait for me. I'll go and try to speak to her." I said, my frown deepening. Jason looked like he was going to protest, but halted when I glared at him. Even though I knew that this was the natural reaction of a brother, he should know that him being panicky right then wouldn't help one bit.

After taking a few deep breaths, he nodded and went to the kitchen. I walked towards Thalia's room, and her sobs became louder and louder as I walked closer. I stopped right outside her room and knocked on her door.

"Go away! I don't want to talk to you now! Stop pestering me!" Her strangled voice came from inside the room. Hearing her voice so sad and desperate nearly broke my heart. I had never seen her so depressed before.

"Thalia, its me, Percy. Can you please let me in?" I asked with a gentle voice. The there was no reply for a moment. Only the sound of her sobbing could be heard. Then, I heard her shuffling in the room, and the door opened with a click. Thalia's face slowly appeared as she peered out, and when I saw her face, I was shocked.

She had heavy bags under her eyes, her face was pale, her eyes were red and puffy, her hair was sticking out all over the place, her clothes were ruffled and messy, and tears were streaming down her eyes. When she saw me, she grabbed my arm and pulled me in, slamming the door shut behind me. She then did something that she would never do in any other state. She hugged me tightly and cried into my shirt. Woah.

I wrapped my arms around her and embraced her. What the hell had happened to make her into this kind of state? We stayed in that position for five minutes, her sobs slowly receding into quiet sniffs. She then pulled back and sat down on her bed, hugging her knees. I went and sat down beside her, wrapping on arm around her shoulders, comforting her.

"You want to talk about it?" I asked her. She stayed quiet for a moment, and then started to explain in such a soft voice that I had to lean closer to hear her.

"I…I hugged Nico…now…now we would probably always be awkward around each other. I'm scared…that we would never be able to talk again…he may even be disgusted at me! I mean, he may even think of me only as a friend! And I hugged him! He may break our friendship saying that he didn't want to be too close to me or anything!" She ranted on. I stared at her in disbelief. She was so distraught because…she _hugged _Nico? Seriously? I would have laughed if not for her condition being so serious. I sighed.

"Thalia, I know Nico. He isn't that kind of person. He won't push you away or end any friendship just because you hugged him. It may get a little awkward, but I'm sure you two will pull through. You're overthinking it." I said, rubbing her arm. She shook her head, not believing my words. I sighed again.

"You need to eat. If you die of starvation, it won't matter whether you guys end friendships or not." Well, I admit that was a little harsh, but it was true. Thalia knew it, and she knew me well enough to know that I didn't mean anything bad. She nodded.

"I'll come back with some food. Try to calm down." I said before standing up and going to the kitchen. There, I found Jason looking at me with worried eyes.

"She's just a bit upset over her personal matters. You understand why she doesn't share it with you, right? I know it hurts, but it will take time to build your brother-sister relationship. It can't just appear after so many years of separation." I said to him. He looked a little hurt, but nodded in resignation. I then whipped out my phone and called Nico. After a few long rings, he finally picked up.

"Yo, Percy, I was just about to call you to ask you a question. Do you know-?" Nico asked.

"Its Thalia." I said, and I heard his breath hitch.

"What about her? Is something wrong? Is she sick? She didn't come to school today, so I was thinking about calling you to ask. How is she? Has she-" He started to ask questions non-stop.

"I want you to come here now. She's not fine; she's distraught, thinking that you may never talk to her again. She's been locked up in her room for the whole day, and I was away so I didn't know until I came back home." I answered. I could hear him take a deep breath, preparing to ask a load of questions again, but I spoke up before he could say anything.

"Come. Here. Now. I can explain everything once you get here." I said, and waited for his reply.

Three seconds later, he replied. "I'm coming." And the line went dead. I looked at the phone and sighed. He better come.

I then went to the kitchen and fried some fries and took a can of coke out of the fridge. After that, I brought them to Thalia and forced her to eat. At first, she immediately refused to eat, but after much persuasion, she finally, though reluctantly, started eating. It wasn't of a proper meal, but I don't usually cook, so I didn't keep much food in the house.

Ten minutes later, she was still eating the fries. You may wonder who the hell takes more than ten minutes to finish a bunch of fries after not eating for a whole day, but Thalia really had no appetite, so she ate as slow as a snail. Just then, the doorbell rang, and I got up from my spot and went to answer the door. There stood Nico, in his usual attire- which is practically all black- and looking as though he had just been chased by a lion. He was panting and sweating heavily. I stared at him.

"Woah, dude, did you really run all the way here from your house?" I asked in disbelief. His house was about more than a mile away! He really must have been very worried to be able to run so fast for her. I smiled a little at the thought.

"The traffic was bad. I couldn't wait. How is she? Is she fine now? Can I see her?" He asked a string of questions. I shook my head and waved my hand for him to come in. He quickly stepped in, and looked around for her room.

"I'm coming with you." I said. He nodded and walked towards Jason's room.

"Err, hey, Nico, its that room. The one you're going to is Jason's." I said with a small laugh. His face turned a little red with embarrassment, and shot me a glare. He then started to walk towards the correct direction. It occurred to me that he never knew which room was Thalia's, even though he had visited my place at least a thousand times. Well, that's probably because she never had a definite one until she was beaten up that day…

He was about to knock on her door when I grabbed his arm. He looked at me impatiently, glaring at me.

"What is it?" He asked in an angry, yet worried tone. I started back at him seriously.

"Before you go and talk to her, I want to know one thing." I said. He raised an eyebrow.

"Ask quickly. I _need_ to see her…" he said. I decided to go straight to the point. Beating around the bush would just annoy him further.

"Do you like her?" I asked seriously, maybe even a little threateningly. His reaction was immediate. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. And then I saw the panic, and he began to stutter.

"Well, erm, we've been hanging out a lot these few months, so we're quite close now. Um, maybe, I don't-"

"Do you like her?" I asked again. This was a serious matter. I couldn't have him not being sure. He looked at me and saw my gaze, and then took a deep breath.

"Yes, I've liked her ever since I saw her." His answer was direct, his gaze now without waver, and his voice strong and firm. Good. I nodded approvingly.

"Then go. She likes you too. I should let her reveal this herself, but seeing her in this kind of condition, I don't want her to suffer anymore. Go on. If you want to make a move, make it. This is the perfect opportunity…if you do ask, she'll be crying tears of joy later." I said with a small grin.

He looked at me, wide-eyed, and then smiled widely. His eyes shone with happiness. It was the first time I've ever seen him this happy.

"You sure she will accept if I asks?" He asked me. I shrugged.

"Well, she made the first move. I think she will accept." I said. When he heard that, he looked more confident. I then waved for him to carry on.

"I'll stand here and watch you guys." I said. He nodded, and knocked on the door. When no answer came, he just opened it.

Thalia was under her blanket, her sobs barely audible, but still can be heard. Nico then moved forward and sat on the chair.

"Thalia." He said, and the sobs immediately stopped. The bump under the blanket that was her body stiffened. Slowly, Thalia pulled the blanket down so that her face was revealed. She still looked the same as just now, all red-eyed and stuff. When she saw Nico, she was, to say the least, shocked right to the core. Her body literally froze, and they stared at each other for a few seconds.

"What…are you…doing here?" Thalia asked softly. Nico looked at her kindly.

"Percy told me. The reason you're doing this. The reason for everything that you're doing now." Nico said in a gentle tone. Her eyes widened in shock. She seemed to just notice me standing at the door, and she was somewhat glaring at me…her eyes had many emotions…shock…anger…betrayal…

"And…" Nico continued, and her eyes snapped back at Nico. He shifted uncomfortably, and scratched the back of his head. "I kinda…like you too…" He muttered.

If Thalia's eyes could have gone any wider, I'm sure her eyes would have popped out. Thalia sure was shocked a lot of times. Her mouth was wide open, and she seemed to be trying to speak, but was unable to. Guess it's really a shock to have your crush for more than two years suddenly admit that he likes you back.

Nico's discomfort seemed to grow even more when she didn't reply. He was looking down at the ground now, and shifting from left to right. He finally asked the question I was waiting for.

"And…will…will you be my girlfriend? I mean," Straight away, after he spoke the first sentence, he proceeded to rant, while Thalia…well…I think you get the idea. "I've liked you ever since I met you, and over the years we have been spending quite a lot of time together. We sit beside each other in class, and we go out together for study. We always pair up in work. We trust each other quite a lot and share quite a few secrets. We have a few common interests and stuff. My liking for you has only grown over the years…" He finally stopped ranting, out of breath and perhaps not having anything more to say.

"So…will you be-" his question was cut short when Thalia threw herself at him and kissed him full in the lips. Nico seemed to freeze for a moment, but responded quickly and returned the kiss. I looked away, not wanting to intrude their make-out session. As I walked out to the living room, I heard Thalia's voice, filled with more happiness than I have ever heard over the past three years.

"Yes, yes! I will!" She exclaimed and laugh heartily. I heard Nico chuckle too. I smiled. Finally, after so long, they're finally together.

Makes me wonder about myself though. Hehehe…


	22. Miracles

**Heya guys...well PERCABETH FOR YOU :D... well just for your info from next tuesday to next next monday or tuesday i won't be updating...but i will try to write :D i'm going overseas so i can't update...so yea, sorry for the inconvenience. This is also quite a long chapter :D  
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**Okay i took out that part cuz i'm afraid my friends will read this and find out :D shhhhh all those that don't get it, don't look at this. For those who do, shhhh  
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**pls R&R!  
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Annabeth's POV

I smiled as I saw Percy waiting for me outside my house. It's strange. It feels as though we have been doing this for a long time, when in actual fact, he had only started to wait for me outside my house only three days ago. The first time was because he found out I was late. The second time was because he was worried that I was sick. The third time, which is now, is just because he wants to go to school with me.

It's my first time ever experiencing this. I've always gone to school alone, with no one to accompany me. Well, its actually because I had very few friends, or none at all in all my previous schools, and also because I was usually late for school, and no one really bothered to wake me up or wait for me.

This was all new to me, all so alien. To have a caring friend, one that cared for me so much. Well, there was another time…but now, seeing Percy being so kind and stuff, I can't believe I actually considered him as a boyfriend. Now I know that he treated me like trash. At that time, all it took was a 'hi' and a smile, and I was bought in.

Maybe it was because I didn't know true friendship then, but ever since I came here, I began to find out. And now I know that _he_ never treated me like someone special in the past. He always treated me like a friend, and when I found out that it was all an act…I also realized that he actually thought me lower than a friend, which is to say, trash.

Percy looked up at me when I opened the door and gave me a wide smile. To others, it may seem like nothing, just a friendly gesture in an everyday life. But to me, it was something special. A smile from my first true friend…I treasure it a lot. Many people really do not know how fortunate they are to have true, caring friends around them. They always backstab each other, always argue…always take friends for granted. They don't know what it feels like to have absolutely no friends…no one to trust, no one to rely on in times of need…

Of course, Percy could be doing this for the same reasons as what _he_ did for. Of course, Percy could betray me any time and leave me in an even more devastating condition than the last time. But something…something keeps telling me that I can trust him…maybe it's the sincerity in his eyes whenever he looks at me with worry, or whenever he smiles at me with true kindness, or…

"Heya, ready to go to school?" he asked with a grin I treasure so much as I walked up to him after locking the door. I smiled back.

"Of course, if not I wouldn't be here." I said. He looked at me teasingly.

"Well, you could have forgotten to bring something, or maybe left some fan on in the house…" he said. I chuckled.

"Please, I'm not that forgetful. Who would be stupid enough to leave their lights, fans, whatever turned on?" I said with a smile. He suddenly looked a little sheepish. I stared at him.

"You mean YOU do?" I asked in disbelief. He rubbed the back of his neck and gave me a lopsided grin. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, luckily I'm not as much of a seaweed brain as you are." I teased. And then it struck me. I had just insulted my first friend, and even gave him an insulting nickname. I was about to apologize when he just laughed.

"Seaweed brain? Where did that come from?" he asked. At first, I thought he was angry, but when I saw his face, still holding that grin and his eyes twinkling mischievously, I knew that he wasn't angry. Thank the gods.

"It just came out. I guess that's my official nickname to you." I said with a wide, somewhat evil grin.

"Oh, no," he groaned. "Another nickname for me. Isn't kelp head enough already…" I laughed at that.

"Who calls you kelp head?" I asked curiously.

"Thalia, that pinecone face." He said. I chuckled.

"Well, come on seaweed brain, we got to go." I said and started to walk towards school. I had enough rest the previous day, hence I was able to wake up early today. Percy though, still managed to wake up earlier than me. Wonder what time does he usually wake up. He followed and we talked and joked at the rest of the way to school.

School, came and gone, and I was already packing my bag to leave for work. I also had gotten to know the others in Percy's group a little more. I had observed the school, and also noticed that Percy's group really was popular. Everywhere I went, I could see many of the students staring at them.

Usually, in other schools, the popular group consisted of bitches and playboys, mostly pampered idiots. But, in this school, it was different. The people in the group were definitely not bitches or playboys. They also didn't look very arrogant and stuff, which usually tells me that they are pampered. They acted just like everyone else. Its actually quite amazing.

Also, ever since Percy took care of me, and fetched me and stuff, I felt easy and even carefree around him. Of course, not totally, and in school, I still wasn't that much different due to the large number of people that I didn't know at all. But, compared to last time, I was a lot better. I even got on a small conversation with Katie. That alone showed that I was slowly but surely gaining confidence. I realized that all that only happened when Percy suddenly appeared in my life. Well, if not for him, I wouldn't even be talking to Katie. I would be sitting on some loner, loser table with no one to talk to at all.

I was about to walk out of the classroom to go to work when Percy came up to me, his bag already packed.

"Do you want me to walk with you to the shopping mall?" He asked. I was a little taken aback. Here he was, showing more kindness again…

"I don't want to trouble you. Its fine, really." I said, trying to dissuade him. I didn't want him to sacrifice his free time just to keep me company. He shook his head.

"Nah, you're not wasting my time at all. What's wrong with escorting a friend?" he said with a smile. I would have protested more, but he waved his hand when I opened my mouth, and I knew that nothing I say would change his mind. Unless, of course, I told him I didn't want him to come, but that would be a bit too…

"Do you think you can make some free time for yourself?" Percy asked out of the blue when we were walking towards the shopping mall. I thought for a moment, and then laughed a little dejectedly.

"I'm their best employee, not to be self-praising, but its true. No matter how much I try to ask them for a few days of rest per week, they won't allow it, and if they do, they would cut my pay, and if they do that…" I broke off. He got the idea anyway. He looked ahead thoughtfully.

"Tell you what. Go and ask your boss today. It can't do much bad to you." He said. I frowned.

"He may think I'm lazy…" I muttered. At this, Percy laughed. I glared at him.

"What's so funny about that?!" I said angrily, and maybe a little hurt too. He must have caught my tone, as he immediately stopped laughing.

"No, its just that…you? Lazy? You worked your ass of till one in the morning and got sick the next day, and you think he may say you're lazy?" He said. My frown dissipated. He had a point there. I smiled a little.

"Well, still, I don't think my boss would allow me to get all that…" I said.

"You have nothing much to lose. Just try. You never know when a miracle could come." He said with a grin.

"Thanks…" I said. I then realized that we were already standing in front of the shopping mall. I looked at Percy, and he seemed to be contemplating something. He finally looked at me.

"Well, I'll see you later. I'll try to pick you up! Around 11!" He said and waved. I was about to protest that he shouldn't bother, and that I wouldn't be released that early, but he had already ran back the way we came, waving back at me and giving me one of his wide grins. I just sighed and waved back.

When I reached the restaurant, I observed that there were only a few customers. Well, it gets busy around 6, and the time now is only 4…

I then made my way to the office, my stride purposeful. I may have looked kind of confident, but to tell the truth, I was a wreck of nerves on the inside. I never tried to ask anything that good for myself before, and to ask for a day or two breaks per week…

"Hello! Are you going to see Mr Roberts?" Charis greeted. I nodded silently, a bit too nervous to speak at the moment. She smiled widely at me, as always.

"Well, good luck!" She exclaimed, which made me roll my eyes. "I'll see you later! Hope you can teach me more!" She said before waving at me, smiling at me one last time before turning and walking back to the diners.

I gulped as I stood outside Mr Robert's office door. My hands were shaking uncontrollably and my legs felt like jelly. I slowly lifted my hand and knocked on the door.

"Come in." His usual cold, monotonous, emotionless voice came from the office. I then went in and found him sitting in the usual place, doing the usual thing. When I stepped in, he looked up, and his eyes lit in recognition and some other thing that I couldn't identify…

"Ah, Annabeth, its good to see you. I wondered where you went to, seeing that you weren't here yesterday." He said, and that made me even more nervous, if that was possible. "May I know why you didn't turn up for work?" He then asked.

"I was sick yesterday." I replied. One of his eyebrows arched.

"Why were you suddenly sick?" He asked.

"Well," I started to reply. "Technically, yesterday in the morning around 1am, it was raining heavily and I didn't have an umbrella. The bus services had all stopped and my house was quite far away." I gave my explanation. He nodded, as though he accepted my reason. I really hope he does.

"And, Mr Roberts," I continued. Here goes nothing. "I have a favor to ask. May I have, like, one or two days break every week without my pay being subsidized? I mean, I do more work than the others- it's a fact. I need time to study too…I know it's a hard favor, but can you please let me have it…?" I practically begged him. Okay, I've said it. I held my breath, waiting for the scolding and shouting that was bound to come from him. To say I was surprised when he actually looked like he was contemplating my request would be an understatement.

"Hmm," he pondered for a while, and then looked at me and replied. "Alright. I'll give you two days break per week, your choice. But only two days. The rest of the days, you will come for work unless you have some very urgent matter or reasonable excuse. I will also give you a pay rise. You have indeed worked more, and worked better than the rest." He said. I stared at him, not believing my ears. Not only did he give me my break…he actually gave me a pay rise? Despite what I was asking for?

I smiled widely at him, and then started to thank him profusely. He merely waved me away and told me to get ready to work. I happily obeyed.

That day of work seemed to be the happiest day of work in my whole entire life. I was smiling to every single diner I served, and always spoke in a happy tone. I put in all my energy into work, not wanting to disappoint the man who just made my life a whole lot better.

Surprisingly, the diners that day were fewer than expected, though it was still a lot higher than the number needed. At 1130, everything was packed up and I was already leaving the place. As I walked out of the shopping mall, I heard someone call me. It was then I remembered that Percy was waiting for me. Indeed, he was jogging towards me from a bus shelter near the shopping mall.

"Guess what. He actually gave me the two days break, my choice! He even gave me a pay rise. Oh, this is one of the best things that has ever happened to me! " I exclaimed…well, more of squealed than exclaimed. He smiled widely at the news.

"Really? That's great! You can join us for lunches and whenever we hang out now!" He said. I nodded happily.

"Come on, lets go back home." I said and started skipping happily down the road. He laughed at my antics, and started to jog after me. I was smiling all the way back home.

When we reached in front of my house, I beamed at him. My cheery mood still hadn't dimmed.

"I guess you were right. Miracles do happen!" I said with a laugh. He chucked lightly.

"Yea. I made some food for you. Its in your house. Go and eat. I'm sure you haven't eaten anything yet." Percy said. I frowned a little.

"You needn't have done that, you know. I didn't know I had food in the fridge too…" I said to him, than to myself.

"I used my own ingredients. Before you start protesting again," He said as I opened my mouth, making me stop myself from doing what he just stated. " I really don't mind cooking for you. I like cooking, especially if its to help someone. From now on, I would be cooking your dinner for you on your work days. Don't you try to stop me, 'cause I am the man who cannot be moved." He said with a wink.

I suddenly felt like crying. Crying in joy, of course. So much kindness, so much good things happening ever since I came here. Now I know that moving here was probably the best choice I have ever made in my life.

I stood there, staring at him wordlessly at shock for a few seconds, before suddenly hugging him tightly. I couldn't resist. He had done so much for me, and is still finding more and more to do for me.

"Thank you!" I exclaimed and smiled at him. He grinned back at me affectionately.

"Go on the, enjoy my awesomely delicious food." He said, his lopsided grin still plastered on his face. I pretended to puke, which made him laugh. He then waved at me and started to walk back to his house. We stood at our doors and waved at each other before going going into the house.

I immediately went to the dining table, and there really was a meal there. It was still warm, which was quite amazing, as though he knew when I was about to leave and heated it up before going out to fetch me…

I smiled widely as I ate. It really was awesomely delicious.

Thank the gods for such a wonderful, caring best friend. To me, anyway.

I couldn't stop smiling as I went to sleep that day.


	23. ANsorry

**Hi...im sorry** **if you all thought this was an update...i've been really busy with competitions lately and too tired...and maybe also not enough energy to write the next chapter :( I know wome of you may hate me for this but i really am tired...so i'm writing this to apologize to all of you...i'll be going overseas tomorrow sigh and i won't be able to update till next week so please be patient...again i'm really sorry...**


	24. An outing and a Dinner

**Um, so hi guys :D GOOD NEWS! HERE"S AN UPDATE! i just found out that this hotel has wifi LOL i'm not sure the next one will have one, but if there is, i'll write more! This is my dad's computer, so i may have a few typos here and there as i'm not used to the keyboard.  
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**WOw, this chapter is long. My chapter's are getting longer and longer. Well, the story is getting started :D Many events will be happening from here on out, and btw, I'LL BE ADDING SOME FIGHTING INSIDE THIS STORY! Spice it up :)**

** I'm also really sorry Just-Awesome-Old-Me, but i didn't know that this place will have free wifi, and i thought i should inform you guys about why i won't update for the next few days, but since there is, here's the update :D  
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**I also really thank Awesomel and toe walker and all the other reviewers! I'm sorry, i can only remember three, as these are my regular reviewers and i thank them a lot.  
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**Toe walker  
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**Just-Awesome-old-me  
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**Awesomel  
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**And sorry if i missed out some reviewers who are also regular, but truth be told, these three always gives me kinda long and positive reviews, and i thank you guys a lot :) I hope you will stick with me to the end of this story, which would not end for a while...still has quite a long way to go.  
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**Well, PLEASE REVIEW AND THANK YOU FOR THE AWESOME REVIEWS :D  
**

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**Percy's POV**

I glanced over to Annabeth. It was Thursday, and even though it was never arranged, the group outings were always held on Thursdays and sometimes Tuesdays. They were the only days that almost everyone was free. Every other day, we were busy like hell.

Anyway, as I looked over to Annabeth, I saw her shifting from left to right. She was nervous. I guess that's kind of reasonable, since it was most probably her first time going out with a group of friends. At least, her first time in a long time. Suddenly, she turned to me with a frown on her face.

"Percy, do you think I'm dressed okay? Am I too dull? Is my hair messy? Are my clothes too shabby? Are-" She asked a whole load of questions for the fifth time that day as we walked towards the recently opened Carvahall shopping mall.(**Lame name, i know. I think some of you may recognize carvahall too :D) **We had decided that we should get back home and change first before going out for our lunch and weekly outing.

Last week, Annabeth's boss, Mr Roberts, had given her two days leave per week. She hadn't even used any leave days this week yet. Today, Thursday, is her first day. I'm thinking of having her use her next one this Sunday by inviting her to my house though...

"Annabeth," I cut her off. She had decided to wear a pair of jeans and a grey shirt that had the printing of an owl on it. I also noticed that she had owl earrings and an owl keychain on her phone. She seems to love owls a lot. "You are dressed completely fine and well. Don't worry about it. Trust me." I said, and then sighed as she opened her mouth to ask more questions. I quickly put a hand over her mouth, silencing her, while she frowned and made muffled sounds in protest. I rolled my eyes.

"Annabeth. You. Look. Fine. So please stop asking me whether you look ugly, too dull, whatever. If anything, you look good." I said. Her eyes widened in shock, and I arched an eyebrow in question. My question was answered a few seconds later.

"I really look good?" She asked in a small voice. The same one she used all the time when we first met, and the one she still uses around others other than me. I frowned. Again, it must be because of her past. Just how much has she suffered...?

"Of course you do," I said. "You look really good, and I'm not saying this just to shut you up." I said truthfully. She looked down for a while, and then looked up at me and smiled brightly. I couldn't help but smile back.

"Thank you." She said happily. I grinned and waved.

"I was only being truthful." I said. Her smile widened, and she started to skip slightly as we walked. I shook my head at her antics. It was as though she was a child that had never been very happy before. That is probably true...

When we reached the entrance, we spotted the group waiting beside a candy floss stand. Thalia and Nico, finally a couple, were sharing one, and so were the other couples. Clarisse and Chris were there too, and so were Frank and Hazel. It suddenly struck me that the only people in the group that weren't a couple were me, Connor, Travis, Katie and Annabeth. What a scary thought. I didn't count Grover as he more or less already had Juniper, who, by the way, was there too. Katie and Travis could already be considered as a couple too. Piper and Jason were always so sweet with each other that no one disagreed that they could be a couple already. Thalia, being the crazy sister she was, didn't even object to her brother's foreseeable relationship. Her words were "He can take care of himself. And Piper's a good girl." That left me, Connor, Leo and Annabeth. Woah...

Thalia spotted us first, and waved at us. If you're wondering why Thalia didn't come back with us to change, it's because she and Nico had already planned beforehand and brought clothes out to change so that they had more time to spend with each other. The others followed her example once they spotted us. I smiled and waved back while Annabeth tried to smile back. She succeeded, though her smile was kind of weak. But, at least she wasn't as bad as last time. Last time, she would have probably looked down and maybe even tried to run away. That would have been comical...

"Hey there." Thalia said as we stopped in front of them. I smiled and waved. She rolled her eyes at my action. Sometimes, i just like to annoy her with that. She always gets annoyed whenever I wave in greeting instead of saying 'hi'.

"Ready to go? I think I have enough of candy floss. If I eat anymore, I may not be able to eat later." Beckendof said, his arm wrapped around Silena. As usual. The others nodded in agreement, whereas I looked at them in wonder.

"How many sticks have you eaten?" I asked Beckendorf. He shrugged.

"Three? I think it was three. Am I right?" He glanced down at Silena and asked. Silena smiled up at him and nodded, and then gave him a peck on the lips. Beckendorf grinned widely and nodded at me. I rolled my eyes at that.

"Let's get going now!" Travis and Connor exclaimed in unison as they rushed started to run towards the shopping mall. Well, Travis tried. He was pulled by the collar by an extremely annoyed Katie.

"Don't go in without us, idiot. We don't even know where we're eating yet." She said. Travis frowned and shook her off.

"Why didn't you pull Connor..." He whined as he massaged his neck. Katie rolled her eyes. Lots of rolling eyes nowadays, huh...

"He was already out of my reach. And," Katie replied in a perfectly reasonable tone. "Unfortunately for you, he seems to be a much faster runner and much stronger person too. So I figured that pulling you back would be much easier. It was true." Travis pouted when he heard that. A few of us chuckled at their antics. Even Annabeth smiled at them. Katie, however, was not amused and glared at us angrily, whereas Travis looked at us questioningly. Though I think neither of them knows what we're thinking.

After Connor realised that we hadn't decided where to eat and came back to us, which took about five minutes, we went in and looked for the directory board. When we found it, we searched looked around it for an interesting restaurant.

"Why don't we try that?" Frank pointed at some Korean restaurant. It was written in Korean, so obviously we didn't understand it. We recognized the style of writing though, and figured that it was a Korean restaurant. After searching for ten minutes, we finally found it. The shopping mall was already full of curious people, and when we saw the queue, we groaned loudly.

"What the hell. There's no way we can get in before five." Nico swore. Many of us nodded in agreement. That is, until we saw a frantic Grover waving at us from way in front. We stared at him. When in the world did he disappear? Well, since this concerns food, I'm not that surprised that he had gone ahead of us...

We walked to where he was, and saw that he wasn't even in the queue. We then glared at him.

"I thought you were in the queue?!" Clarisse growled angrily. Grover smiled and shook his head.

"I don't need to be. When you guys said that you would be eating at this shopping mall on Tuesday, I booked a table in every restaurant in this whole shopping mall. I just finished cancelling all of them but this one." He finished his explanation. All our jaws dropped in shock. Well, except mine. I knew he would do something like that...

"Well, good thinking, I guess..." Thalia said unsurely. I could somehow understand her. Grover was way too extreme sometimes...well, he was rich, so I guess he could do these kind of things...don't get me wrong. He doesn't spend money as though its nothing. Just that when it comes to food...

"Let's get going then." Frank announced. He was the second biggest eater in the group, followed by Beckendorf. Though compared to Grover, they were still far lacking behind.

After getting out seats and ordering our food, we started talking about school, friends, bla bla. Same old things. Beckendorf asked Annabeth why she was busy two weeks ago. Annabeth, surprised by the sudden response, didn't know how to reply. She looked at me imploringly, and i answered for her.

"She had to buy some groceries." Beckendorf looked at me questioningly.

"How do you know?" Beckendorf asked, his eyebrow arched.

Due to my ADHD brain, I managed to make up at least ten excuses, but I chose the best one.

"Well, I'm her neighbour, and do you remember that day, when we both didn't come to school as I was caring for Annabeth. When I was in her house, I saw loads of groceries, and when I asked her about it, she told me that she had spent Thursday buying the groceries." I explained smoothly, hoping he couldn't catch the lie. I exhaled mentally when he nodded.

When the food came, Grover immediately tackled anything at his reach. We all rolled our eyes at him, and Juniper sighed. Oh, i forgot to mention. Juniper joins us for our outings sometimes. Even though she says it's just for fun, we all know its because of Grover.

We quickly took some food before Grover finished everything by himself. Annabeth began to talk to Katie about school work. They seemed to like biology, and discussed about the human system. Digestive systems and stuff. Annabeth seemed to be at ease whenever she was around Katie. Okay, so she still was a little timid, and couldn't make jokes and laugh freely around Katie, but at least she could talk somewhat normally to someone other than me.

After eating, we went to look around the mall. The mall was obviously for girls. The shops there were all on earrings, necklaces, handbags, clothes, shoes...everything a girl would be interested in. I glanced at Annabeth, who was quietly walking beside me, and saw that she was looking in every direction, a small smile on her face, like a child being happy just because she got to go out. Knowing her previous working time, I would be surprised if she _wasn't _happy.

The day came and gone quickly. We said our goodbyes to each other and began to walk home. That left me, Annabeth and Thalia. Jason said that he wanted to take dinner with Piper, and Nico couldn't eat with Thalia because of his dad. Well, its fine too, 'cause I'm with Thalia.

It was already five in the afternoon. The group couldn't eat dinner together because some of us had to go home early, while the couples wanted some alone time. I could feel the awkwardness in the air. Thalia and Annabeth had not communicated much, and I could see that both of them were trying to think of something to say to start a conversation, but didn't know how to.

"Annabeth," I called out. She looked up at me quizzically. "You want to stay with us for dinner? I'm making the food you tasted before. Porridge and all." I said with a grin. Her eyes widened in shock, and, not for the first time, nor the second or the third, I cursed the people who caused her to miss out so much kindness in the past.

"I'll just be a nuisance to you two..." She said in a soft voice and looked down. I could tell that she really wanted to go, but was afraid that Thalia wouldn't want her to join. I knew Thalia wanted her to join, and turned to her and frowned at her.

"Convince her." I mouthed at her. She nodded.

"Nonsense!" Thalia exclaimed, causing Annabeth's head to snap up and look at Thalia. Thalia was giving her a big grin. "You won't be a nuisance at all! It gets kind of boring to have only this kelp head as company, so why don't you join us?" I glared at Thalia for insulting me, but was pleased that she spoke up. If it was two years ago, when she was still kind of unfriendly to most people, she wouldn't have spoken up at all. Now though, she's changed a lot, and for the better too.

"R-Really?" Annabeth asked in a timid voice, looking at Thalia tentatively. Thalia wrapped an arm around Annabeth's shoulder and nodded as she grinned at her. Annabeth, seeing Thalia being so friendly and welcoming, slowly smiled back.

"I guess I'll go then." Annabeth said in a more confident tone. That's good. She usually takes time to speak in that voice to others. I'm glad she's becoming more carefree.

We talked about everything that night. Well, I only talked at the early stage, when school was involved. I then shut them out once they started talking about shoes and bags and all the girl stuff. I checked my email on my phone. I frowned at one particular email. I opened it and read it. Seems like there would be a new student coming from Manhattan. If you're wondering how I got this mail, lets just say that i have eyes everywhere, well, at least in this area.

My attention turned back to the girls when I heard them talk about swords and knifes. How the heck the subject came to that, I have no idea. But, I'm quite interested in swords and stuff, so I decided to join the conversation.

Just for your information. Our school teaches some of us how to use weapons too. Swords, knifes, bow and arrow...they only teach those who wants to be taught. Very few join this particular co-curricular activity, which is called art of weapons class,(**lame name, i know**) as they are extremely dangerous, but I like Sword fighting, and joined it, though I learnt sword fighting much earlier...

"Why don't you join the art of weapon Club? It may look dangerous, but as long as the protective gear are there, and that we play safely, we probably won't get harmed. We use all types of knifes there. I'm using hunting knifes. They're curved and shiny. Oh, forgot to mention, you get your own weapon once you are ranked master in your weapon." Thalia explained. She then went to her room and took out her hunting knifes. They were well kept as always. They were Thalia's most precious items.

"They're inside curriculum time, so it won't take up your free hours after school." I added in. Of course, her hours after school was anything but free, but Thalia was there, so...well, she got it anyway, and nodded at me. Thalia then introduced her beloved knifes to Annabeth.

"These are my knifes. As you can guess, I'm currently at master level. Percy there," She pointed at me. "Has his own blade. Its called riptide. That sword didn't come from the school though. He already had it with him when he joined. Also, guess who teaches us." Thalia said to Annabeth. Annabeth shrugged. Thalia grinned.

"Mr Brunner." At this, Annabeth's eyes widened, but after a few seconds, she smiled.

"Well, seeing that he's so enthusiastic in Greek mythology, its not that surprising that he teaches the weapons they used during their time." Annabeth said, causing all of us to chuckle. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Annabeth announced that she had decided to join the club. Thalia and I grinned at her.

"What weapon would you be doing? You can do multiple weapons, though, but it's not recommended." I asked her, and then advised her.

"I think I'll be learning how to handle a knife. I only want to learn how to fight and not be a defenceless girl if anything bad happens. They will be teaching basic hand-to-hand combat, right?" She asked, her eyebrow raised in question. I nodded.

"Of course," I replied. "And you will be under Thalia. There are only a few masters, and Thalia's the youngest and also the closest age to you, so I think they will assign her to you." I said, and she smiled at Thalia. It's incredible how easy she got to make friends, and even already become good friends, in just one night whereas she a few days to even become a friend of Katie's.

"Percy's probably right. And if they don't set me with you, I'll kick their asses." Thalia said with a big grin. Annabeth returned it. I could see that both were excited about this. I smiled. Annabeth looked at her watch and gasped.

"Oh, crap!" She exclaimed and hurriedly stood up. "I'm so sorry! Its already so late. I've been keeping you up. I should leave now." She started to walk towards the door, but Thalia grabbed her arm, stopping her. Annabeth looked back a little fearfully, her body tensed, but she relaxed when she saw Thalia smiling at her.

"Relax. It's no trouble. I don't mind staying up all night to talk to you." Thalia said in a light and friendly tone. Wow, she rarely shows this side of her.

"Yea," I said in agreement. I then remembered that I wanted to ask her to come this Sunday for dinner. "And I'm also thinking of inviting you over for dinner this Sunday. Grover and Nico will be here too. I want you to make friends with them. Can you make it?" I asked her. She looked at me and caught my eye. A silent understanding passed between us. I bet she didn't know what to do with her second free day until then.

"If you don't mind..." Annabeth said, though most of it was directed at Thalia.

"I would love to have you! The more the merrier!" Thalia exclaimed. When Annabeth heard it, she shivered a bit, and i saw her eyes getting a little wet.

"Thank you. Really. I...have to go now. See you guys tomorrow." She said in a shaky but happy tone. I smiled at her and nodded, waving my hand, and Thalia sent her off.

"You noticed?" I asked Thalia when she came back to the table. She nodded silently.

"I think you understand her better than the rest of us. I hope you'll help her." I said to Thalia. She looked at me in the eye, eyes burning with determination and anger. The anger was not directed at me though.

"I swear, if I ever find out what made her like this..." Thalia said through gritted teeth. I grabbed her shoulder and shook it.

"I'm counting on you guys then. Only you can understand her hardships, as only you suffered a lot last time." I said to her, though on the inside, I knew that I...

"Are you sure? Percy, you know that you can tell me anything, right? I still don't know about your family and past..." Thalia said warily. I sighed. She suspected. Of course she did.

"I told you already, Thalia. I lived a very comfortable life with my family, and i only came here alone to study." I said to her. She frowned, making it clear that she did not believe me. After staring at each other for a few seconds, she sighed and gave up.

"Percy, you know, when the time comes, if you ever need to tell me anything, I'll be there." Thalia said. I shook my head.

"There's nothing to tell." I said curtly, and walked to my room.

My past will never be revealed. Never.


	25. Asking a favour, and an old bully

**Heya guys! I'm sorry for not updating the past three days, but the internet in the previous hotel sucks...**

**I don't think this is a good chapter...well, it's definitely not long, and i'm really sorry but i'm so tired that I can't be bothered to write too many details. It's already 3 am here...i've spent more than an hour writing this chapter.  
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**I thank all of you for the reviews :D they spur me on a lot. Please review more! WE're hitting the 200 review mark too :) I'm glad. Well, good night and have fun reading people!**

**I've also recently observed that Toe walker's stop reviewing...well, i guess he has his reasons :( Sad but if the story's not good enough for him then...well, I can't blame him for that. On the other hand, he may be like me, overseas or just no time for fanfiction. I certainly hope its the latter. Enjoy!  
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**R&R! :D  
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**Annabeth's POV**

I smiled as I heard Percy knocking on the door, calling out and asking whether I'm ready to go. His voice sounded a little impatient. Well, it was quite late, and if I don't hurry, even taking a cab won't make us on time.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I called. I then picked up my school bag and ran to the door. I opened it and saw a slightly annoyed Percy standing in front of me. When he saw me, he frowned even deeper.

"C'mon, it's a Friday. Cut me some slack, Seaweed Brain." I whined as I locked the door. His eyebrow twitched irritatingly, but he then sighed.

"If I get my first detention this few years, it would be because of you, and don't call me Seaweed Brain, Wise girl." He said, his voice sounded irritated. I just smiled cheekily at him, knowing that I had succeeded in irritating him and thus wasn't bothered by his retort. He rolled his eyes when I smiled at him. I chuckled.

"Let's go. For all we know, the cab driver might suddenly drive away because we're taking too long." Percy said and walked to the cab. I chuckled again, and followed him.

It's strange. We have known each other for like, what, two months? And yet, throughout all my life, in just barely a month, Percy had become one of my closest friends, maybe even the closest one. Excluding _him,_ of course. My thoughts became more and more morbid the more I thought about him. I sniffed subconsciously, which attracted Percy's attention. He looked at me and noticed that my eyes were a little wet.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked in a worried tone. I was a little surprised. I didn't even know that my eyes were tearing. I quickly wiped them away. I looked at Percy and saw him looking at me with a worried expression on his face. I suddenly had the urge to cry again, this time for a different reason, but restrained myself. I shook my head.

"Something got caught in my eye. Nothing much." I said, giving him a watery smile. I then cursed myself for my stupidity. Like, who the hell sniffs when something gets caught in their eye? Percy seemed to know this too, but just nodded. I knew that he knew i was hiding something, but the thing about him was that he never pushed for information. He never asked about my past, he gave me my personal space and didn't push me to reveal my secrets and pain. Yet, he makes sure that I know that he will always be there to help me whenever I need help, that he will always be there if I ever need him.

A few minutes later, we reached the school gates. I noticed that Percy gave some extra cash to the cab driver. They exchanged a few words too, but I was already out, though i did manage to get a few words.

"Sorry...made...wait...extra...make up...thanks..." I heard Percy say. I immediately felt guilty. Because of me, Percy had to give more money to the cab driver for making him wait for me. Of course, it wasn't really a must, but it was the right thing to do, and what's more, it was Percy who did it, not me.

I was looking down guiltily when he came up beside me. We then started walking in silence. I could tell that we weren't late or anything because of the large number of students walking into the school with us.

"What's wrong?" I heard Percy asked, yet again in a worried tone. It just made me feel guiltier. I had caused him so much trouble in the past, but i haven't given anything back. Not only that, I'm still giving him more trouble.

"I'm...sorry..." I whispered. "Sorry for causing you so much trouble...I seem to be a nuisance to everyone...nothing else..." I didn't know what to expect.

That was why I was really surprised when I felt an arm squeeze my shoulder. It wasn't the hard, angry type of squeeze. It was more of the gentle, warm type of squeeze. I looked up in slight surprise and saw him smiling down at me, his eyes warm and kind, but also a little anger inside. He looked at me straight in the eye.

"Don't call yourself that. You," He said in a firm, but still kind voice. "Are not a nuisance to anyone at all, especially not me. You got that?" He asked. My eyes were wide at his statement, but really, I should have expected that. It was totally Percy-like. Still...I don't want to take such a blessing for granted.

"Still, I'm sorry." I said. He just sighed.

"No need to be. We're here." He said. It was then i realised that we had already reached the class. Percy was holding the class door open, looking at me, waiting for me to enter.

"Thanks!" I said with a bright smile now. He always managed to cheer me up. He just smiled back and followed behind me after I got into class.

The day came and gone quickly. To me, anyway. To others, studies and school is a drag. They didn't know how precious it is to even have a school. They all had good families, financially well, all so pampered...

The last lesson was Greek today. I was a little nervous, even shaking a little when the bell rang, signalling the end of the day. If you are all wondering why I was nervous, it was because I was about to ask Mr Brunner whether he'll let me into the Art Of Weapon club. Percy kept on assuring me that Mr Brunner would let me in. He also said that if Mr Brunner didn't, he will march into Mr Brunner's office and pester him until he lets me in. I smiled slightly at the thought.

"You should ask him now before he goes off." Percy said as he packed his bag. When I didn't react, he sighed.

"Oh, just go and ask him already," He said in an exasperated tone. "It's not like you're asking him for his hand in marriage or something..." He muttered softly, but loud enough for me to hear. I immediately glared at him when I heard him say that. I didn't dare to imagine asking his hand for marriage...it's _way_ too weird and creepy.

I gathered up every ounce of courage I had and made my way to Mr Brunner, who was about to pack finish his stuff. He looked up at me when I stopped in front of his desk. He then raised an eyebrow.

"May I help you, Miss Chase?" He asked in a polite and slightly serious tone. I was shaking slightly due to anxiety, and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't open my mouth to ask. All the negative possible outcomes went through my over-thinking brain.

_What if he finds me too petite? What if he says that I lack the determination? What if He laughs at me for even trying to ask? I'm certainly not a hardened warrior or anything...What if..._

I suddenly felt a hand pressing down my head. I looked back and saw Percy standing there. He looked at me, and then sighed for the third time that day. Mr Brunner looked at the two of us, eyes tinted with amusement.

"Can she join the Art Of Weapon club?" Percy asked. There, he asked it. I was mentally berating myself for being so timid, and I looked at Percy apologetically as he had wanted me to ask on my own. He just smiled at me though, as usual. I smiled back.

Mr Brunner's eyebrow arched even higher in wonderment, and he suddenly gazed at me seriously, studying me with deep, dark, ancient eyes.

"Hmm..." Mr Brunner hummed, contemplating on whether to let me in. As for me? I was shifting restlessly, and shaking slightly. I never asked for this before. Heck, I never asked for favours in the past few years! And yet, in a month, I've tried asking for favours so many times already!

I then heard Mr Brunner sigh. My heart rate increased and all the negative thought scame back again. I was expecting him to say no.

Hence, I was surprised when I saw him nod. He seemed a little exasperated though. I wonder why...

"Yes, I'll let her in. She seems a little shy now, but i can see some potential. He said. My heart leaped when he finished, and I wanted to leap and skip and scream in joy. I can even join a club now! I was so excited.

"Even if i said no, it wouldn't matter...you'll find a way to get her in anyway..." Mr Brunner muttered in an annoyed but yet resigned tone. I smiled slightly at his grumblings and looked at Percy inquiringly. He just gave a cheeky smile and shrugged. I rolled my eyes at him.

"I told you so." He mouthed at me. I stuck my tongue out at him and made my way back to my bag to pack up.

"I'll pick you up later at the same time!" Percy said. Before I could protest, he waved goodbye, giving me a wide grin before running off. I huffed in annoyance. No matter how I tried, he would never give in, would he...

As I walked towards Lakeside shopping mall, I thought about all the things that had been happening. I've never talked so easily with anyone before...not even him...and yet, after so many years, just in a month, I've found Percy, a truly good friend and Brother. Also, I recently found Thalia.

To tell the truth, when I first came into the school, I was afraid of Thalia. She had the cool, cold and hard exterior. She looked like a delinquent to me, and the rumours from other students didn't exactly help my imagination of her character.

But, after meeting her the day before, I found out that she was actually a very friendly and kind girl. Her eyes reminded me of mine, and that's probably why she was cold and seemingly heartless. She and I...may actually be the same in some ways, just that we took different approaches to our problems. She acted tough, whereas i avoided everyone and became timid.

Before I knew it, I was already at the shopping mall. I was about to walk in when a certain someone caught my eye. He was across the road, and yet his face. _His face! That face!_

My whole body went rigid. My eyes were as wide as saucers and my mouth hung open. I was shocked, surprised and a fear started to crawl up my skin.

Ivan. Ivan, that bastard from my previous school. The one who always bulled people, and especially me. What was he doing here? I couldn't believe my eyes. Why, why? Why is this always happening. He should in Manhatten! Why is he here!

Many thoughts went through my head as I continued my way to the restaurant. No please...if he was here...please let it be a vacation, or holiday. Anything other than him moving here...

But, it wasn't the holiday season, and no student will come to the Bronx straight after school. There could only mean few things, but one stood out the most.

He was moving. Moving here, to the Bronz. What's worse was that here, the only popular school was the school that I was attending then...and since he's kind of rich, he would most probably be enrolled to my school. Not good.

That day, I worked distractedly. I even accidentally spilled some wine on a table when I was filling a diner's glass. Luckliy, it didn't spill onto the diner's clothes. It got me a lot of scolding, though.

Finally, work ended. I glanced at the clock and groaned when it read that it was one in the morning. Past midnight. As usual, I was one of the last few to leave the restaurant. Thoughts about Ivan still crossed my mind. If he really got into my school, if he spotted me...he would make sure my daily life would be a living hell...no...

My unhappy thoughts melted away as I saw a familiar messy black-haired guy walk towards me, sea green eyes looking at me with a mysterious swirl of power and mystery. I smiled at him warmly, and he did the same in return. It's funny how he can change my mood so easily. It's also scary too...

"There's food on the table! I'll join you tonight. There's nothing on tomorrow, so I can sleep more." He said before i could protest.

"Plus, the food is your favourite." HE said with a large grin. I smiled brightly at that. If he did cook my favourite dish, it means that there's porridge, pork floss, baked beans...all sorts of good stuff. I must have looked very weird, as Percy was staring at me in mock cautiousness, acting as though I might be a retarded person who smiles suddenly stares into space.

We talked about all sorts of things on the way home. Work, friends. Really, usual stuff all the way. When we reached my house, I tried to dissuade him one last time from coming with me. Of course, it didn't work.

That night, as we chatted, made jokes and laughed away, my worries about Ivan disappeared for a while. Percy makes me forget my troubles. Whenever I talk to him, I feel happy...all warm and fuzzy on the inside. I like it.

I'll think about Ivan later. Right now, let me enjoy my time with my best friend, my brother.


	26. meeting Nico's familypart of them

**HI people! Sorry for not making this Percabeth, but its Thalico XD. I have nothing much to say in this except thanks for all the reviews. Oh, i also noticed Brightwatcher also ready my other fanfic thats on hold...thanks for coming here :) **

**To tell the truth, i'm actually considering doing three projects at one go, but school is starting, so i have to see how. Also, i'm thinking of making AMVs for animes, but i have no idea where to download, and which ones can work on imovie. If anyone knows, please TELL ME THANKS!  
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**PLS R&R! THANKS FOR THE AWESOME REVIEWS :)  
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Thalia's POV

"Hey, Nico, want to go out for lunch?" I asked on the phone. It was Saturday, and I had nothing to do at all. Usually, I would spend time sparring with Percy in the training room. Me with my knifes and him with his sword. Yup, in case you're wondering whether you've read this wrongly, he has a freaking training room for us to train our respective weapons against each other. His house has enough spare rooms to fit one training room.

But, he went out today to who knows where, and Jason had gone out to have lunch with Piper, leaving me alone in the house. See? I have such a sad life, always left alone by those two bastards…I'm just joking, by the way. If it weren't for Jason, I would probably be dead by now, as without him, I would have bled to death in _her_ fucking house. The 'her' is my mother, of course. And, as for how Percy helped me…he had helped me in a lot of things…

"Um, yea, I think I should be able to go." Nico said. I raised an eyebrow, though it was obvious Nico couldn't see her doing that.

"You think?" I asked. I heard Nico gulp on the phone and began to worry. What was wrong?

"I don't know whether my father would allow me to go out," Nico finally said in a resigned tone after a few seconds of silence. "He's kinda strict." My heart sank after he said that. Then, it suddenly struck me.

"Nico, does your dad know that we're together?" I asked. I heard his breath hitch, and my heart sank even more. I already knew the answer before he said it.

"No…he doesn't even know I am into that kind of stuff. Well, he doesn't know anything about me. He hardly cares." Nico said in a sad tone. It saddened me. I always knew that Nico had problems with is dad. At least he had a mom…

"What about your mom and sister?" I asked. At least they should be more accepting than Nico's dad.

"They don't know too. I haven't told them anything." He said. I sighed. This wasn't going well. We only started dating a few days ago, so it was understandable that he hadn't told anyone of his family yet. An idea suddenly popped into my head.

"Hey, Nico. What about this- we go out and have lunch with your mom and sis. I know that you dad is probably too busy, and most probably won't be able to join. Is it possible?" I asked, an idea already forming in my head. If I could get on their good side…

"What! You want to meet my mom and sis? You're planning to tell them?" He asked in a disbelieving tone. I frowned. What was wrong with that?

"Is there a problem in doing that?" I asked in an annoyed tone. He was being so difficult. There was silence for a few seconds, and then Nico sighed.

"It's just that…isn't it a bit too early? We've only been together for a few days." Nico said. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, please. Since were already a couple, I don't find anything wrong to say what I'm about to say." When he didn't reply, I continued.

"Nico, we've been acting like a couple for one and a half years already. We just never admitted it. Only because of Percy…" I trailed off, remembering how we actually got together. Gods, now when I think about it, I realize that the way we got together was kinda epic.

"…Okay…I'll bring them along. Where do you want to eat?" He asked.

"Anywhere your mom wants to eat." I said.

"You know, I still don't get why you want to meet my mom." He said. I sighed in exasperation.

"Nico, think about it. They would be a lot more displeased if we tell them a few months later. Not only would they scold us for going into a relationship without their permission, they would also reprimand us for not telling them early. Do you think that will help them accept our relationship?" I asked in an irritated tone. I could imagine him staring into space, contemplating over what I had just said. After a while, he spoke again.

"Alright. Hold on, I'll ask them whether they want to meet up with you. I'll say we're meeting a friend for lunch, okay? It's better to tell them face to face…" he said.

"Alright." I agreed, and waited for him. A minute later, he picked up the phone again.

"They said that they would love to meet you. I don't know why they would love to meet a complete stranger," I smiled a little. "My mom said that she wanted to ear at Carvahall shopping mall. You know, the one we went to on Thursday. We'll meet at the entrance at one in the afternoon. Is that okay with you?" He asked.

"Yea, its fine. See you!" I said in an excited tone.

"See ya." He replied, and hung up the phone. I sighed. This lunch would be one of the most important events in my life. This is the first relationship I've ever been in, and I don't want it to end badly. I don't want it to end at all. Usually, people only meet their partner's family when they were engaged and going to marry. I have to admit that it was a little rushed. Still, it's for the best.

The hours passed by slowly. One hour felt like ten. To say I was only a little nervous would be an understatement. I was _extremely_ nervous. Finally, 1230 came and I left the house. I made sure I looked as neat as possible. My hair was tied into a neat ponytail. I wore my most decent shirt, which was a picture of a shield with the head of medusa on it and slim jeans. If you're wondering whether that really is my most decent shirt…it probably was. All my other shirt had gory scenes, rolling heads, monsters and zombies, etc.

When I reached the entrance, I sighed in relief. They hadn't reached yet. At least she hadn't kept them waiting. She stood at the entrance nervously, looking around for them. Five minutes later, I finally spotted them. Well, I spotted Nico. I didn't recognize the two woman beside him, but I guessed that they were his sister and mother.

Nico waved to me and smiled brightly when he spotted me. Some of my nervousness melted away, and I did the same back to him.

"Good afternoon Mrs Di'Angelo and…" I trailed off when I looked at the younger version of the other woman. She just smiled.

"Just call me Bianca." She said.

"And good afternoon, Bianca. I'm Thalia." I said with a smile back at her.

"So, you're the girl Nico wanted us to meet. You're very pretty." Mrs Di'Angelo said with a wide, warm smile. The compliment made me blush.

"Thank you. The same goes for you two." I said, and the both smiled and nodded their heads in thanks.

"Mom, Bianca, this is Thalia, as you already heard. And, um, you already know my sis and mom." Nico said with a nervous chuckle. Bianca and Mrs Di'Angelo looked at Nico, then at me. They seemed to be trying to spot something. They then smiled slightly and nodded. Weird….

"Um, so where do you want to eat?" Nico asked his mom. Mrs Di'Angelo contemplated for a moment before answering.

"Lets go eat Fish&CO." She said, and Nico nodded his head. They then walked into the building, Bianca and Mrs Di'Angelo leading the way, and Nico and I following silently behind.

"You ready?" Nico asked in a whisper. I knew what he was asking. Was I ready to tell them? Maybe, maybe not. But there's no going back now.

"I guess." I said. I was shaking nervously as I walked. Nico seemed to notice it, and grabbed my shivering hand and squeezed it to comfort me. I looked at him, and he gave me a smile. I smiled back. He then let go in case the two in front suddenly looked back. They didn't know yet.

"We're here!" Mrs Di'Angelo announced. I looked ahead and saw the restaurant. It wasn't that crowded-thank the gods. I wouldn't want to wait for an hour just to eat.

Ten minutes later, We were sitting around a rectangular table. There was absolute silence around us. It was the awkward kind too. Nico and I were shifting in our seats uncomfortably whereas Bianca and Mrs Di'Angelo seemed to be watching us with mild amusement.

"So," Bianca spoke up, breaking the silence, causing me and Nico to sigh mentally in relief. "to what do I owe the pleasure of being invited to your lunch?" she asked, looking at me and Nico with a slight grin. I suddenly had the nagging suspicion that they had already guessed why we called them out.

"Um, er, um…" Nico made all the weird sounds, trying to think of what to say. I rolled my eyes. Luckily, Bianca's and Mrs Di'Angelo's attention were focused on Nico, so they did not see me do that action.

"We want to tell you something." I finally spoke up after getting tied of hearing Nico stutter and stumble in his incoherent speech. Their attention immediately shifted to me.

"Yes?" Mrs' Di'Angelo asked. Her face was emotionless, but I could see the twinkle of amusement in her eyes. Had she already guessed. I gulped down my nervousness and gathered up my courage. I took a deep breath, and let it all out in one fell swoop.

"We invited you out to tell you that we are currently a couple and hope that you will accept us two being together." There, I said it. To my utter surprise, their faces didn't change, and after two seconds of silence, the two of them suddenly smiled widely.

"You finally found a girl! I'm so happy for you!" Bianca squealed happily as she leaned over the table and gave Nico a tight hug. Mrs Di'Angelo laughed.

"Bianca," She said after watching Bianca choke Nico to death for a few seconds. "Let him go. He'll die at this rate." She said in a light tone. If any of you are wondering what I was doing at that time, I was staring at the two in shock. I had imagined them to be at least a little angry, or shocked. Okay, maybe they were shocked, but for what, two seconds? They sure took it way better than I thought they would.

When Mrs Di'Angelo saw my shocked look, she chuckled lightly, ignoring Nico's gasps for air and Bianca's squealing.

"We've…always wanted him to get a life. He's always so emotionless and quiet, we wanted him to be more lively. We had been observing him for the past few days, and he seemed to be happier. We had tried quite a few times to cheer him up in the past," At this, Nico snorted. He then muttered something like 'quite a few doesn't cut it.' Which caused Mrs Di'Angelo to smile. "But we never succeeded in making him what he was these few days. We then came to the conclusion that only with the help of attraction to a girl would make him happier. I support you two. You seem to be a pretty nice girl too." She said with a wide smile.

I was wondering how could a mother just let her child be with some girl she just met just because of a first impression. Nico must have guessed what I was thinking.

"She can read people very well." Nico explained shortly. I nodded, accepting that. Nico knew her more than I did, obviously, and I trusted him. So yea…

"Good," Bianca said with a clap. "Thalia, take care of my little brother, okay?" She asked me with a smile, but I could see it in her eyes. It was warning me "If you hurt him, I'll drag you into hell". I smiled and assured them that I would, while Nico glared at her and protested that he didn't need to be taken care of.

The lunch went well. Slowly, I began to talk more easily with them. They were kind, nice and kinda funny. They treated each other with so much love and affection that it made me feel jealous. What did I have? A dead father, an abusive mother, a distant brother…

I berated myself for feeling jealous at them. It wasn't their fault that I had this kind of family. Also, its not like I didn't have anyone as close as family to me. I have Percy and Nico…

"We'll be going off, then." Bianca announced after we had all eaten finished. When Nico prepared to stand up, Bianca pushed him back down.

"Nuh uh, kid. You're staying here with Thalia till you and her finish dessert," She said with a wink. "I'll explain to that some made up reason, or mom can just tell him to shut up. Spend as much time as you want out! Just not too late! See ya later, kiddo." She said. She then waved to me and winked too, causing me to blush.

"Bye!" they both said, and exited the restaurant. After sitting there in shocked silence for ten seconds, Nico finally spoke up.

"So, er, yeah. There's my sis and mom." He said with a slightly embarrassed tone. I rolled my eyes, and then smiled happily at him.

"They accepted the relationship so easily! I thought it would have been harder!" I exclaimed.

"Well, they were always accepting…and I guess their reason is kind of reasonable…its true that before I became a couple with you, I was always emo at home…" he said with a nervous laugh. I hit him on the head.

"Ouch! What was that for?" He exclaimed like a kid.

"For being so emo at home." I said, and he pouted, causing me to laugh.

"Yea yea," he whined. "What dessert do you want?" He asked me, picking up the menu and looking through it.

"Hmm…lets get a banana split?" I asked. He nodded, and then called for the waiter to order.

After we ate finish and paid for the food- Nico's mom had given him the money to pay, and no matter how hard I tried, he didn't let me pay anything- we went for some shopping. Well, I went for the shopping. Nico just got dragged everywhere by me.

After three hours of running around the shopping mall, I finally decided that we had shopped enough. I had bought a more decent shirt, which had the picture of an eagle on it, and some stationary for school.

"What was the point of dragging me along if you only wanted to buy a shirt and some stationary…" Ni co muttered as we walked towards Percy's house. I live there, in case any of you have forgotten.

"Why? Don't want to spend time with your girlfriend?" I asked teasingly. He groaned. I chuckled at his actions.

"Don't worry. There'll be lots more of those trips in the near future." I said with a wide grin. He groaned again, this time louder.

"Gods, help me…" he whined. I rolled my eyes. He treated shopping as a chore. I don't get why all boys treat that as such. Its so damn fun!

"Hey, tomorrow, are you coming to Percy's house for dinner?" I asked Nico. He nodded his head.

"Well, duh. We do that almost every Sunday. It's a routine." He said. I bonked his head for being so sarcastic, but I was smiling. He rubbed his head and glared at me.

"Stop hitting me girl. Its called child abuse." He said.

"That's only for adults hitting teenagers and children, jackass."

"Than…than its called physical bullying. And you just bullied me verbally too."

"That's not called bullying, 'cause you know I'm just goofing around."

"Yes it is!"

"No it isn't!"

"Just admit you're a masochist!"

"I'm not!"

"Than stop whacking me!"

"You're the one acting like an idiot!"

"No! I'll have you know I'm a very mature boy!"

"As if! You…"

We continued playfully arguing back and forth for the whole walk back home. Time flew quickly and we realized that we had already overshot Percy's house by a few metres.

"See, this is your fault!" I said with a smile.

"As if! Go back home already." He retorted back. He was grinning too. He then passed me the bags he had been carrying for me.

"Yea yea. Thanks." I said as I took the bags from hi,, and gave him a peck on the lips. His yes widened in shock, and mine did too. We both realized that was the first time we have ever kissed on the lips.

"First kiss for me…" I said, trying to break the suddenly awkward atmosphere.

"Me too…" Nico said, and we looked at each other for a few seconds before we started grinning widely again.

"See you tomorrow!" I said and waved as I walked back home. He waved back and didn't stop until I closed the door. I was smiling like a kid that just got a new toy until I heard a voice.

"Had fun?" I turned and saw Percy standing there, grinning knowingly at me. I glared at him, my cheeks turning a little red with embarrassment.

"None of your business," I said, though it only caused him to grin wider. "Where were you the whole day?" I asked, arching my eyebrow.

"Just went out to do some stuff, I'll be out again later, so go to sleep whenever you feel like it. Oh yea, I'll cook your dinner before I leave." He said. I nodded.

"Thanks." I've long given up expecting an answer from him whenever I asked him what he was doing. I also knew that asking him what he was going to do that night would be useless.

"Anytime." He said, and went to the kitchen. I could hear the TV playing and I knew that Jason was watching it.

I smiled. Eve though this wasn't my home, it was starting to feel like it The only people who I deem my family were here. Percy cooking and whistling like a nanny in the kitchen, and Jason watching Television in the living room.

I had felt jealous of Nico, but I shouldn't. Compared to last time, I was already very, very lucky. I know had people to welcome me whenever I got home, people to talk and chat with. I should be grateful for it, and I am.

I smiled as I went to my room. Yup, life was a lot better than last time, and its getting better and better.


	27. Surprise breakfast, and more bonding

**Damn...this was a hard chapter to write, and if i wrote down the dinner part, it woul dgo up to ten thousand words for one chapter...already this chapter is more than four thousand words, and i'm tired as hell. The ending wasn't that good..forgive me for this chapter if it wasn't good. I'm not an expert writer after all...**

**Once again, thanks for all your awesome reviews :) By the way, i have to tell you all this since many of you have been asking this. They will not be getting together anytime soon...but they will, later. So please be patient.  
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**R&R And for the ocassional disclaimer: Obviously the characters that you can find in the PJO and HoO books do not belong to me, all belonogs to Rick Riordan. Love that guys for Percy Jackson :D  
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Percy's POV

I opened the door as I stepped into Annabeth's house. It was seven in the morning, on a Sunday, so it was understandable when the house was silent and kind of dark, with the exception of the brightening rays of sunlight coming through the windows.

In case any of you are thinking that I'm retarded for going into her house before she was even awake, let me inform you that I was going to prepare her breakfast. I doubted that she even knew how to make a proper meal, considering that she was always rushed everyday in the past due to her work time and school. This was probably the first day she had ever truly had a break, no school, no work.

My eyes widened a little as I opened her fridge. I had completely forgotten that she barely had time to shop for groceries and food at all. I don't think she had ever cooked anything for herself before, unless its instant noodles or something close to that…

I grinned almost immediately. Well, looks like I would have to use my own food in my house. Thalia and Jason were still sleeping, and probably won't wake up till around ten to eleven. It _was _a Sunday, after all. No one wakes up that early except those people who were crazy about work or needed to work like crazy, which is to say, Annabeth.

When I reached my refrigerator in my house, I searched for some ingredients. My eyes fell on eight eggs I had stored inside, plus some ham, butter and kaya.(**Kaya is some sort of…um…I dunno, I forgot, but it's nice :D) **Butter and kaya spread together tastes excellent, and hard-boiled eggs would do nicely with the bread.

Twenty minutes later, I was already setting up the table. Two hard-boiled eggs, one loaf of bread with butter and kaya spread and a ham to go with it, and a glass of milk for each of us. I can proudly say that all of the ingredients came from me except for the milk and bread, as Annabeth didn't have anything inside her fridge safe for the carton of milk and a loaf of bread.

I was then beginning to think that I made her breakfast _way _too early. I mean, who the hell would wake up so early in the morning if they have nothing to do for the rest of the day…excluding me, of course. I'm an early-riser. And when I wake up, I can never go back to sleep. That's one of the problems of my ADHD. I know that I don't really look as if I have ADHD, but its because I learnt how to control it. Still, whenever I wake up, its impossible to go back to sleep.

I sighed and started to eat my own meal. I guess I would have to find some way to heat up the egg later…

I didn't expect Annabeth to wake up early, so when I heard the door open, and Annabeth appearing at doorway, I was a little surprised. But, I couldn't say the same thing for her. She was surprised, yes, but hers was "OH WHAT THE FUCK IS SOME PERSON DOING IN MY HOUSE SO EARLY IN THE MORNING" kind off surprise, if her shriek had anything to do about it.

She only calmed down a little when she recognized me. Her eyes were wide, and she was gasping from her shrieking. It must have been really surprising to her that someone just randomly appeared into her living room when she actually lives alone.

"Percy! What are you doing here so earl-" She stopped mid-sentence when she saw the food on the dining table. Her jaw went slack and her eyes…well, they remained wide as ever.

"You…did you make that…for me?" She asked with pauses between her words. I guess she still wasn't used to this much kindness. Well, I _was _taking a pretty huge step. I like to help people in any way I can. In fact, I was already planning to make breakfast for Jason and Thalia later on.

"Yea, I made them for you. Why are you up so early in the morning?" I asked in curiosity. "It's a Sunday, and you have no work to rush to." I said. She stood there for another five seconds before recovering…somewhat…she as still in shock, but her facial expression had one to normal.

"Why…how…" she said. She was in shock so bad that she could not make a full sentence. I laughed at her.

"I made the breakfast for you because I wanted to, and I bet you have never had a proper breakfast, at least in a long time. Also, I made the breakfast using my own butter, Kaya, ham and eggs." I said with a smile. She looked at me, and her eyes started to tear. Gods, why did she get so damn happy whenever something kind happened to her that she would cry? Damn her fucking past…

"You shouldn't have…I'll pay you back the money for the ingredients…" She said. I immediately shook my head.

"No, no. No worries, I'm fine. I like doing this, and I have more than enough money," I said, smiling at her kindly. "You don't have to pay. And please don't continue about how I should be resting back at home and stuff…you know me." I said with a grin.

"Anyway, back to my first question. Why are you up so early in the morning?" I said, my eyebrow arched, my voice laced with curiosity.

"I guess I'm used to it…though I woke up late compared to last time, as I didn't set my alarm clock today…" She said with a sheepish smile, and I rolled my eyes.

"You have to learn how to wake up late, Wise girl." I said with a teasing grin, and she frowned at her nickname.

"What about you, seaweed brain. Shouldn't you be sleeping too?" She retorted back at me. It was then my turn to frown at the nickname she gave me.

"I am not a Seaweed Brain," I said as I glared at her smiling face. "I'm just ADHD, so I tend to wake up early." I said. It wasn't true, of course. My reason was somewhat the same as her. I was used to waking up early, but it wasn't because of work.

"Oh yea?" she said, smirking at me. "I'm ADHD too, you know?" She said with a smug expression. I stared at her.

"Oh…err, okay." I said with a sheepish grin, though on the inside, I was cursing and swearing like hell. Damn that brain of hers. She probably knew that I had the same reason as her. I decided to change the subject before I got totally owned.

"Are you going to wash up? Or stand there with your messy hair and crumpled pajamas." I said, smiling mischievously at her. She looked down at herself, and then glared at me. Her cheeks were a little red with embarrassment, and I chuckled at her.

"Fine," she said and pouted before going back to her room to wash up. I glanced inside before she closed the door, and saw that she had her own personal bathroom inside. Figures.

Ten minutes later, Annabeth walked out, now wearing a plain white shirt and brown Bermudas. She then sat down in front of me.

"Um…can I start eating?" She asked unsurely. I stared at her for a moment, and laughed. She frowned and glared at me.

"Sorry sorry…" I said as I finally managed to control my laughter. "I mean, its not like you have to ask for permission to eat, you know?" I said with a large grin plastered on my face. Seriously?

She glared daggers at me before picking up her bread and biting a large chunk out of it in her annoyance. I watched as her face expression changed from anger to surprise, then to delight.

"Its delicious! What did you put inside?" She asked as she swallowed.

"Kaya and butter. You should also try dipping the bread in the egg first before eating. Oh yea, do you want some dark sauce? It makes the egg taste nicer, well saltier. Depends on your preference." I said as I pointed towards a small bottle of dark sauce on the table. She picked it up and studied the sauce, and then poured almost the whole bottle in.

"Woah! Stop! You really want it to be that salty?" I exclaimed as I held her hand before she could pour the whole bottle in. She looked at me, confused.

"What's wrong with pouring the whole thing?" She asked questioningly, and I did a face palm.

"You've already poured three quarters of dark sauce, and its very salty. People usually put only a spoonful of dark sauce, not pour the whole thing in," I explained. "Its already saltier than most people would like. Try it, and tell me whether you like it or not. Stir it first." I said. She looked at me warily before stirring the egg to spread the sauce. Then, she slowly took a spoonful of egg and put it in her mouth.

I stared at her as she swallowed the whole thing and smiled widely.

"It's so amazing! I've never tasted anything better!" She exclaimed and took another spoonful.

"…You're weird." I said, my face deadpanned. She looked at me, her eyebrow raised.

"What's so weird about it being salty?" She asked. I shook my head and waved my hand dismissively.

"Nothing, nothing. Just carry on eating. Try dipping the bread into the egg first. It'll taste nicer." I said, and she did as I instructed. As usual, she looked like a kid who had just eaten something new and loved it. Sigh…I really have to introduce her to more food in the future.

"Thanks for the meal. It was the best breakfast I had in years!" She said as we sat down on her sofa after we cleared the table and washed everything.

"Well, did you like the bread a lot?" I asked. She nodded vigorously. I smiled at her child-like antics again.

"Then from tomorrow onwards, I'll prepare breakfast for you." I said with a smile. Of course, I knew what her reaction would be.

"What? No! Don't trouble yourself so much! Most of the time, I'm not able to wake up on time for breakfast anyway!" She exclaimed in protest. I rolled my eyes and once again placed my hand over her mouth to silence her.

"Its not trouble to me, okay? I'm the one that wants to do that, not you, so just chill. I'll start tomorrow. It helps my ADHD anyway." I said and took away my hand from her mouth once I was sure she had calmed down.

We sat in silence for a while, letting Annabeth collect her thoughts. I know that her life has been changing a lot the past few days, but I want to change it more, to make it better and better.

"Are you sure? I mean…" she said and trailed off. I looked at her and sighed. I then put my palm on her head and moved it front and back gently.

"I'm sure, so stop asking, okay?" I said, and I grinned when she glared at me and hit my hand away from her head.

"Hm," I hummed as I looked at the time. It was close to nine already. "I'll go back to my house. Need to make breakfast for those to sleepyheads. Want to join us?" I asked Annabeth.

"Is it okay to join? There's Jason too…and I just got to know Thalia…" She said. I sighed in exasperation. She always over think things.

"Jason won't mind, and trust me. When you get Thalia to talk to you like she did yesterday, you're already considered a very close friend, so don't worry about it." I assured her. She pondered for a moment, and then nodded. I smiled.

"Well then, lets go!" I said and stood up. We then left the house and walked to my house. When I stepped in, I looked behind and saw Annabeth standing nervously outside.

"Come on in! Is there a problem?" I asked questioningly. She shook her head and replied.

"I feel like I'm intruding…" She said. I rolled my eyes again.

"You _always_ feel like you're intruding. You're not, so just come in." I said. She glared at me, and then slowly walked into my house.

"Congrats! You just successfully entered my house, wise girl." I said in a sarcastic, but teasing tone. She glared at me even harder and lightly punched me on the shoulder.

"Shut it, seaweed brain." She said before storming into the kitchen, where we usually ate our meals. I chuckled and followed her. When I went into the kitchen, I saw her standing beside the table, looking around the place. It was her second time here, but the last time she was here, she was too nervous to look around. Now, she was observing the place. I had decorated the place with photos of my friends and I. Thalia, Nico, Grover, Beckendorf, Travis…everyone.

"Who's that?" She pointed towards one picture. It was a picture of Micheal Yew, someone that was in our group before, but had to move out.

"He was a good friend, but had to move out because his dad owns a big company," Damn…its getting a little close to my past… "Well, sit down. I'll make their breakfasts now. You want anything?" I asked her. She shook her head and sat down. I then proceeded to make two sets of what I made for her just now.

"Percy, you made breakfast already? What time did you-" Thalia's sleepy voice asked and stopped when said person saw Annabeth sitting on the dining table, smiling nervously at her. She looked at Annabeth, and then at me. I had stopped making breakfast temporarily to look at her, and then grinned at Annabeth.

"Heya! I didn't expect you to be here, but it's nice to have you here." She said. Annabeth looked surprised for a moment, and then grinned back. I could practically see Annabeth's body relax.

"Thalia, go and wash up first. You look like a cat who just came out of a shower and puffed all its fur out." I said, and grinned as she glared at me. Man, I'm making lots of people glare at me today, huh…

"Fine, Kelp face." She huffed before turning around and walking to the toilet, muttering something about me being too naggy and a 'mother hen'. I frowned at her mutterings, but then smiled at Annabeth.

"See, told you so." I said. She smiled back, and I could see the relief in her eyes. She frowned at me.

"Whatever." She said and looked the opposite direction. Not for the first time, I smiled at her child-like actions.

"Are you…Annabeth?" A voice asked. We both turned our heads and saw Jason standing at the entrance to the kitchen. They had never talked before, so they don't really know each other. I think the only ting they knew about each other were their names and roughly their looks.

"Yes…" Annabeth said softly, her body tensed again. Gods, what's wrong with that girl.

"Annabeth, meet Jason, and vice versa. Jason, go and wash up. I'm making your breakfast." I said to Jason. He looked at me, and nodded.

"Thanks…again…' he muttered before turning around and walking to his own toilet.

"Why do I have the feeling that he doesn't want me here…" Annabeth said, and I could sense sadness in her voice. Damn that guy.

"He's like that to everyone. Don't think too much about it. You sure you don't want anything?" I asked her again. She shook her head. I sighed and went back to making breakfast.

"Feel so much better now…" Thalia said as she came into the kitchen and sat down opposite me. Jason came in quietly a few seconds after her and sat down beside her.

"Can you stop staring at us while we eat?" Thalia said, causing Annabeth and I to arch our eyebrow in question. "It's weird man." Thalia finished. Jason just silently nodded in agreement. We both rolled our eyes. Good thing Annabeth is relaxed again.

"Fine, we'll sit outside and wait for you to eat finish." I said, and the two of us went to the living room and sat down on the sofa.

"Want to watch TV while we wait for them?" I asked Annabeth.

"I don't want to waste your electricity…" She protested. OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.

"Annabeth, stop thinking that you are a nuisance everywhere you go, okay? Don't worry about anything at all. Money is not really a problem to me, and so stop protesting whenever I offer something." I said in an exasperated voice. She opened her mouth to say something, and than closed it and looked like she was pondering over something.

"Thanks…" I heard her softly say, and I sighed. I then took the TV controller and turned it on, and we watched while waiting for the two to finish eating.

"Nice to see you here, Annabeth. Why'd you come?" Thalia asked as she sat down beside Annabeth after she had eaten, giving her a smile. Annabeth smiled back.

"Percy came to my house and made breakfast for me, and then asked me to come over, so I did." Annabeth replied, and Thalia's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Was his food good?" Thalia asked, and I chuckled. The first thing she asks is whether the food was nice.

"Yes, it was excellent! I never tasted anything so good before!" Annabeth exclaimed, causing Thalia to laugh.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Percy has exceptional skills in making food delicious." Thalia said. I didn't know whether to be annoyed at her or be happy at the compliment.

"I'm going out to find Piper. I don't think I'll be back for dinner. You have your own group anyway." Jason said to us. We nodded.

"I'll be going now. Bye." He said before leaving the house.

"He seems rushed…" Annabeth said, and I could tell she was thinking that Jason was repulsed by her and didn't want to stay any longer.

"He's always like that when he's going to meet Piper. They're already dating and stuff, so he's excited." I said.

"Oh…" I rolled my eyes again. What the hell, today seems to have lots of rolling eyes. Sigh. Lots of sighs too…

"You are joining us for dinner tonight, right? Grover, Juniper and Nico will be there, including me and Percy." Thalia asked Annabeth.

"Yea, I'm joining, " Annabeth said with a smile. "I'm looking forward to it." That caused Thalia to smile.

We spent the next few hours chatting and watching TV. Suddenly, Thalia's phone rang. Thalia looked at the screen and smiled widely. She then answered the phone.

"Hi Nico…yea…I'm free for lunch…sure…okay, meet you there!" She said before hanging up the phone and grinning happily.

"I'll be having lunch with Nico. We're meeting at Whitesands shopping mall at one, which is half an hour away. I'll go change now. We'll be out till dinner." She said and went back to her room to change. I sighed.

"Ever since they became a couple, they can't survive a single day without seeing each other." I said. Annabeth chuckled.

"Jealous?" she said teasingly, causing me to glare at her.

"No way in hell. She's like a little sis to me. I do NOT hold any sort of liking towards her in the way you're implying." I said, and she laughed again. I grunted in annoyance and went back to watching TV.

Two minutes later, Thalia quickly walked out of her room, wearing a black shirt with skulls and bones decorating it, and a pair of jeans.

"I'll be going off now. See ya later!" She called excitedly before rushing out of the house and slamming my door behind her. Damn that stupid pinecone face freak.

I sighed. Once again, only Annabeth and me. She was silently watching the TV, though I could tell by her fidgeting that she was restless and only sitting there because I invited her to. I began to mull over what we could do, and I smiled as an idea came to me.

"Hey, Annabeth, want to learn how to bake muffins?" I asked her. She turned to me, looking surprised.

"You know how to bake muffins?" She asked in disbelief. I frowned at her tone.

"What's wrong with that?" I asked, a little miffed by her reaction. She shook her head and chuckled.

"Nothing. Usually, boys have no idea how to bake a muffin, but since you already act like a housewife…" She said, and only stopped to laugh at my totally tomato face.

"I DO NOT ACT LIKE A HOUSEWIFE!" I loudly said, and she laughed even louder.

"Fine, lets not learn it then." I said and went back to watching TV with a frown on my face.

"Percy." Annabeth called. I ignored her.

"_Percy,_" She called in a whiny voice. "I'm sorry, okay? Teach me how to bake please, unless its too much trouble…" She trailed off. I sighed for the who-knows-how-many time that day.

"Fine, I'll teach you. Come on." I said and stood up, switching off the television, and then walked towards the kitchen without looking at her. From the corner of my eye, I could see her excitedly skipping behind me, and smiled. There's her child-like personality again.

Ten minutes later, Annabeth and I were wearing Aprons, and the kitchen table was filled with ingredients and cutlery. Flour, sugar, spoons, plates, bowls, saucers…lots of things.

"Lets start the,." I said, and passed her another mixing bowl. "First, put some flour into the mixing bowl, and then we need to crack the egg and our it into…"

We spent three hours making the muffins. Usually, it would have taken a much shorter time, but Annabeth really wasn't good with baking, and messed up a few times. Luckily, I had a lot of spare, but that didn't stop her from apologizing every single time she messed up, and no matter how hard I tried to tell her it was no big deal, I couldn't stop her from apologizing profusely. Finally, we had finished and placed the baking trays inside the oven to bake it.

"That was fun." I said with a grin. It certainly was entertaining for me. Annabeth had some of the mixture on her face due to mixing with too much strength. She scowled at me.

"I'll go back to my house and wash up. I'm a mess now, and sweaty too." She said. I nodded.

"Come back once you're done bathing! I'll have the muffins ready by then, and we can eat some together." I said with a bright smile. She smiled back cheerfully and nodded before exiting the house.

I slumped down my one of the chairs around the dining table and sighed, but I still had a smile on my face. Although it was tiring and taxing, I still had lots of fun, and I managed to let her have some fun too. Even though she had apologized the first few times she messed up, she finally stopped when I gave her a long speech about how she was not a nuisance and I didn't mind at all. After that, she just followed my instructions and set her mind into just relaxing and having fun.

My smile grew wider when I heard the oven alarm ringing. I couldn't wait to taste the muffins. As I took out the muffins and took a tentative bite on one of the muffins from her tray after it cooled down slightly, my eyes widened and I looked at the muffin in wonder. It was amazing. I guess all it took were a few tries and she was already a god baker.

I can't wait to see her expression when she tastes hers. Most probably eyes wide, mouth open wide, frozen body and stuff again. She wouldn't believe that she was that good.

I looked forward to the rest of the day, grinning goofily. This had to be one of the most fun Sundays I ever had, as Thalia usually didn't care about making muffins and was usually too lazy to spar with me on Sundays, and Jason always went out with Piper, leaving me totally bored and nothing to do. At least now, I had some company.

My grin widened as I heard the door open and saw Annabeth come into the kitchen. The first thing she did was to take the muffin I told her to take and ate it. Her reaction was like I expected- big eyes and stuff. The next thing she did was scolding me for not taking a shower and complaining about my smell, which did not amuse me.

As I walked into the shower, I thought about what happened so far, and my lips twitched upwards and the thought of the upcoming dinner just made me happier. Life's good.


	28. Dinner, and well, more bonding again

**YO! Sorry for not updating faster. getting busier and busier! Schools starting next week too, damnit. Anyway, i hope you will like this chapter. The number of reviews i got from the previous chapter was amazing! Thanks people! really, thanks. **

**The ending wasn't that good, but it's kinda hard to end for me. sigh. Anyway, pls R&R! I'm also multi-tsking abit on my other fanfic, so...yea. Btw, happy belated christmas day! i think! XD  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone you recognise in copyrighted stuff.  
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Annabeth's POV

I huffed in impatience as I waited for Percy to finish bathing. I swear, he takes longer than a girl. That, or I never knew how to bathe like a girl, since my life was always rushed. I never took more than three minutes to bathe, as I never had the time to spare. If I ever came back after midnight, I would be too damn tired to bathe at all. Only recently, on my off days, do I start bathing relaxingly. They were the best ones in my life ever since I ran away.

My foot continuously tapped the floor and I let out another huff of impatience. I was eager to start eating the muffin already, but did not want to start without him. The whole reason I was able to get the muffins was because of him anyway. I smiled slightly at the thought of him being so kind to me, and then frowned as my annoyance came back. Why didn't he bathe immediately after the muffin was out? It would save me all the waiting.

I then heard the tap stop running, and sighed. Finally, he's finishing. Two minutes later, I heard the bathroom door-the one he had been using- open, and I heard him walk straight to the kitchen, which was where I was.

"Ahh, sorry for making you wait. You shouldn't have waited. Lets taste them and hope we don't get food poisoning from your baking!" He said teasingly, and I glared at him.

"I tasted the one you gave me, and my stomach's good so far." I said in an annoyed tone. He chuckled at me.

"Food poisoning don't usually come immediately… oh well, it can't be helped. I would hate to see so much effort go to waste." Percy said with a grin. I shook my head, resigned to the fate that he would tease me forever.

"Lets just get on with it." I growled, picked up one of the muffins and bit down on it slightly angrily. Once again, I was surprised. This tasted different from the previous one. It tasted a lot better.

"Why does this taste different from the one you gave me just now?" I asked Percy. He quirked his eyebrow, and then replied, his hand reaching out for a muffin.

"The first one was one of those you made. The one you're eating right now is the one I made." I stared at the muffin in my hand and studied it, and then looked at the tray that had the muffin that he gave me. I studied them too, and noticed that they looked different. Percy's one looked richer, more defined and much nicer.

"Hmph…" I huffed, and continued eating the muffins, miffed that the one he made tasted so much better. I scowled at him when I heard him chuckle softly.

"Don't be annoyed. I just have much more experience than you in making muffins. Yours is already exceptionally good, compared to other beginners." He said with a smile. My scowl lightened. I was not that bad after all!

"But I don't like it when you are better at something a girl should be better than a boy at." I said, pouting. It was childish, I know, but I couldn't resist. I was still miffed that he, a boy, could beat me, a girl, in baking. Talk about embarrassing…

"I've been practicing for years, and this is your first day. Don't fret about it." He said as he patted my head with his clean hand twice before moving it back to his side. I sighed.

"I wish I could make muffins like yours." I complained as I picked up my third muffin.

"With enough practice, you'll bake as good as me in no time." He said, reaching for his sixth muffin, and putting the whole thing in his mouth.

"You have a big mouth. I'm only at my third, and you're already at your sixth. And, you can fit an entire muffin inside your mouth." I said. He smiled and then proved my point by putting another muffin inside his mouth. I rolled my eyes.

"Hm…what do you want to do now?" I asked Percy as he washed the trays. He looked up contemplatively.

"Well, its already quite late. I gotta cook dinner. Why don't you explore around my house? Fourth and fifth floor, including my room, are out of bounds, okay?" Percy said. I nodded and walked out of the kitchen.

"Oh, don't forget to avoid Thalia's and Jason's rooms!" Percy called.

"Alright!" I replied. Since I had already seen everything on the first floor, I decided to climb the stairs to the second floor.

"Woah…" I said as I stared at the library in front of me. It was like a miniature library. It still was quite big, considering the fact that this library was in a house. I walked around the library, looking through books that piqued my interest. There were many books on business, accounting, how to conserve money, how to make money…does a sixteen year old boy really need all this?

As I walked deeper into the library, the books started to change. Just now, it was all on work, money…stuff for adults. Now, there were books on science, Greek mythology, even some fiction books, and many books on fighting. My eyes widened as I found a bookshelf that was a quarter full of architecture books. I love architecture!

"This…I've wanted this book for ages!" I squealed as I stared at the book that I just took out. It was "Ancient Greek Architecture". I was so interested that I didn't even bother to find a proper seat before sitting on the floor and started to read.

Time flew without me knowing. I didn't even hear the door to the house opening. It was only when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder did I stop reading to look up to find Percy staring at me with an amused look. I immediately winced as my neck gave out a cracking sound and I felt a sharp pain.

"Ouch…shit I was looking down for too long…" I said as I massaged my neck.

"Its already seven. You've been reading for three hours! And judging by what you said and your neck… you sure have lots of patience for a ADHD person." Percy said, and then chuckled.

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain. I was just interested in this book." I said as I slowly stood up and stretched my body. I wasn't surprised when he said I had been reading for three hours. Before I ran away, I had always read architectural books before I slept. And when I finally felt sleepy, I would find out that I had been reading for more than three hours.

"Oh…if you want, I can lend it to you." He said. I looked at him unsurely. Even though he was already my closest friend, I still wasn't used to someone being so kind…

"You sure it's okay…?" I asked. He sighed, and then nodded.

"I'm sure its okay, Wise girl. Now come on, everyone's waiting for you." He said. My eyes widened.

"I made you guys wait? Oh gods, shit, I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed to Percy. I was about to rant on how sorry I am until he closed a hand over my mouth.

"It's fine, Annabeth. We're not that strict! Waiting a little is fine." Percy said with a smile. My urge to apologize decreased as I saw his smile, and when he finally took his hand away, I sighed.

"Come on," Percy said and patted me on the head, "We gotta go downstairs. I'm sure you're kinda hungry now, even with those muffins." He said. Just then, my stomach growled, and he smirked at me.

"Fine." I said, glaring at him. We made our way down to the kitchen. To say I wasn't nervous would be a lie. I was nervous like hell. I knew that this time, there would be Nico, Grover and probably Juniper. Damn, why am I always so scared to meet new people? Well, actually, I know the answer, but…

"There she is!" I heard Thalia's voice exclaim. I looked up to see Thalia smiling brightly at the two of us as we walked in. I then spotted Nico sitting beside her, his hand holding hers. He glanced at me and gave me a small nod. I nodded back and looked at the other two sitting across them. I recognized Grover immediately. He's kind of hard to forget, with his eating spree every time the group goes out to eat. He grinned at me goofily. There was an extremely pretty girl sitting beside Grover. I shifted uncomfortably as they stared at me, studying me.

"Hello, I'm Juniper. You're Annabeth, right?" Juniper said as she smiled at me. I gave her a wavy smile and nodded. She walked up to me and gave me a hug. My eyes widened in shock.

"I finally get to talk to you! I've been wanting to talk to you for so long, but you're always not there after class, and when we go out with the group, you always seem so nervous and awkward, and…" she ranted on and on, letting go of me and looking at the ceiling, her hand waving as she talked.

"Cool down, Juniper. Grover, get your girlfriend under control." Percy said as he sat down. Grover glared daggers at him, blushing slightly. I was surprised when Juniper suddenly stopped ranting and blushed too. They may actually have mutual affection, huh…

"You gonna stand there all day?" Percy said, his eyebrow arched. I shook my head and stopped my train of thoughts before walking over and sitting down opposite Percy. I looked at the food on the table and smiled. It was Asian food today, huh… in front of everyone was a plate of rice. There were Asian foods like steamed fish, liver soup, stuff like that.

"Since we're all here, lets start!" Grover exclaimed and attacked the steamed fish, braised beef, vegetables… practically everything on the table. Everyone else sighed and started to quickly place food on their plates before Grover ate everything.

"So, what did you guys do this afternoon?" Percy asked, looking at the four.

"Went for some shopping. As usual…Thalia dragged me everywhere. Thank the gods she's one of the girls that actually bys something whenever they shop, not like someone I know here." Nico said in a sarcastic, but also teasing tone, looking pointedly at Juniper.

"Hmph, I just like walking around," Juniper pouted before putting a big spoonful of rice inside her mouth. "I always cannot decided what to buy…I'm not as decisive as Thalia." Juniper finished.

"Thalia's just a special case. Don't worry, Juniper, what you do is what a normal girl does. Thalia's abnormal, so don't be affected by what Nico said." Percy said, and grinned at the two people sitting beside him. Both were glaring at him, with killing intent all around them.

"Whatever." Thalia just said after a few seconds and went back to eating. I smiled at their antics. They really behaved like brother and sisters…like a small family even without parents…

"Grover, slow down. I know you've done this lots of times, but you may get unlucky and choke on your food if you gorge it down like that." Juniper said in a reprimanding tone towards Grover.

"Sorry, I'm just famished. I had to practice for three hours straight today, you know? I need to restore my energy." Grover said amazingly clearly with his mouth full. He then swallowed everything in his mouth with one gulp, and went back to eating. Juniper sighed in exasperation, and the rest of us laughed. Even I chuckled.

"You two really act like a couple." Percy said offhandedly, but I could catch the trace of mischievousness in his voice. I frowned at him, wondering what he was trying to do. Two seconds later, both Grover and Juniper chocked in their food. Slow reaction time, I know.

"Woah, woah! Chill!" Thalia exclaimed as she and Nico stood up and patted their backs. All four of them glared at Percy as he laughed his guts out. I sat quietly and looked at them in amusement, a small smile on my face. Yep, totally like a family.

"So, to what do we owe the pleasure of having you here?" Nico asked me, his eyebrow arched. With his pale face, he looked kinda scary.

"I…Percy and Thalia invited me to come over today, so I did." I replied, afraid of his reaction. He nodded and smiled.

"Well, hope you can come more often. It'll be a good addition." He said. I was a little surprised. I never knew that Nico was that friendly.

"Yea, come over for Sundays from now on. We'd love to have you here." Thalia said with a bright smile directed at me.

"But we're not even that close yet…" I said, and Percy sighed.

"Well, lets use this time to get close, shall we? The more the merrier. The only reason why the others don't come is because they live a bit too far or that their parents don't allow them to come." Grover said. Juniper nodded in agreement.

"I'd love to have you here! It's no fun with only Thalia being the only other girl to talk to. She spends more of her time talking to her boyfriend anyway." Juniper grumbled. Thalia and Nico blushed slightly and smiled sheepishly.

"Am I not good enough company?" Grover whined from beside her, causing her to smack the back of his head lightly.

"All you ever talk about is food!" Juniper exclaimed annoyingly, causing all of us to laugh. Grover rubbed the back of his head and scowled.

"Fine, fine. Be that way." Grover said and went back to his food. Everyone else rolled their eyes while Juniper also went back to her food. I could tell that those two had good chemistry, even though they argue from time to time.

"Oh yea, you'll be starting your sparring session tomorrow. I don't usually attend them since I have no need, but since you're going…mind as well I go too." Percy said with a smile.

"I'm starting tomorrow? But…but I haven't gotten any equipment yet! I-I haven't prepared anything!" I exclaimed in surprise. Percy chuckled.

"You don't have to. Everything is paid, including your equipment, by the school. Our school is rich after all." Thalia said.

"By the way, I forgot to tell you that Nico's inside too. He's not at master yet, but he's very good with the sword. Probably the top three in our school already." Percy said. I looked at Nico, eyes wide as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly at the compliment.

"I…guess I'll be seeing you more often, then." I said to Nico, who nodded back and gave a small smile.

"Hey, do you guys know how to do the mathematics homework? I have no freaking idea how to do shit! Like seriously? All the X there and X here, makes me sick. I always get…" Grover started, which made us change the topic to our work. I am pleased to say that I managed to talk normally to all of them. Well, it _was_ studies, and that's where I'm good in, so I guess I had more confidence than I usually do.

Around two hours later of non-stop chattering, it was time for us to leave. We had school the next day, and I sure want to be rested well for tomorrow. I don't know why, but I can feel a sense of foreboding…

"See ya! Thanks for the help on math, Annabeth!" Grover shouted and waved as he walked down the road.

"Yea, thanks for helping this idiot!" Juniper waved from beside Grover. I waved back with a big smile. This was one of the very few times I actually got thanked for something.

"No problem, you can come and ask me questions anytime!" I called back.

"I should be going off too. My mom's already here." Nico said to all of us, pointing his thumb towards a black limo. Wow, he must be rich."

"See you." Thalia said and hugged him one last time before stepping back and waving at him. He smiled.

"Yea, see you tomorrow. And you two too." He said to Thalia, than to Percy and me before turning around and walking towards the car. He waved one last time before disappearing inside it.

"You going off too?" I heard Thalia ask me. I turned to face her and nodded.

"I'll send her back. You go inside first." Percy said to Thalia, who smirked playfully at him. She then opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped by Percy's hand over her mouth.

"Please don't say any more rubbish…" Percy sighed exasperatedly. Thalia rolled her eyes and nodded before closing the door and leaving us both outside. Percy had a bag in his hand, though I had no idea what it was.

"Lets get going." He said and started walking towards my house. I followed behind him quietly, the book "Ancient Greek Architecture" in my hand, not knowing what to say.

"So, how did you find them?" Percy suddenly asked. I immediately smiled.

"You guys are so close, just like a small family…I almost felt like a part of it. They're really nice people." I replied.

"Hm, glad you like them. And you know, from now on, you are in our so called 'small family', so don't say you 'almost' felt like a part of it, you _are_ a part of it." Percy said and looked at me with a grin that always managed to brighten up my day. I smiled back at him, trying to hold back tears.

"T-Thank you…" I stuttered, and berated myself mentally for doing so. His reply was to pat me on the head. I started to shiver, trying very hard to hold back the tears of joy that threatened to burst forth.

After what seemed like an eternity, we finally reached my house.

"Here," he said as he placed the bag he was holding onto my hand. I looked up at him questioningly, though my body was still quivering and my eyes tearing. I think he noticed, but chose not to comment about it. "There's some more muffins inside that I baked while you were reading. Go back and eat it." He finished, smiling kindly at me.

"You didn't have to do this…" I said to him. He shook his head.

"I didn't but I wanted to, so take it and stop thinking you don't deserve it." He said in a light tone, but I could detect a hint of anger inside the voice. I lowered my head, my body still shaking.

"Thank you…for everything, Percy." I said with a watery smile once I pushed down the urge to cry. He smiled and unlocked the door, nudging me inside.

"See you tomorrow! Enjoy the top-class muffins, Wise girl." He said, giving me one last grin before turning around and walking back to his house. He waved one last time before closing the door.

"Damn…he…he's too kind…" I muttered as I closed the door and went to my room, tears rolling down my cheeks. Tears of joy, of course.

"Thank whatever gods out there…thank you for giving me these blessings…" I said with a smile. I hadn't felt this happy in years. I…I could really start living a happier life from now on. I truly believed that.

I didn't expect to have my past catching up to me the next day.


	29. The new student

**Hello and happy new year! Even though its a little late! XD Well, here's another update. I hope you guys will like it. Its really kinda Percabeth. I know they act like a couple, but i'm not planning to make them one yet.****  
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**My school is starting :O Damn, i hate it. Well, now i may only be able to update weekly, not once every two days or something, as i will be busy. If i can though, i will, though i multi-tasking and may start another SAO story since the previous one sucked.  
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**PLs R&R! And thanks For all the reviews people! Hope i can get at least a 100 favs XD  
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Percy's POV

I observed Annabeth through the corner of my eye as she stared at the new guy. Her whole body was shivering, and her eyes were wide in shock…and even some fear. Frowning, I turned my attention back to the grinning boy in front of the class.

"Class, this is Ivan, and he will be with us for the rest of the year. Please be friendly and make friends with him." Mrs Lim, our English form teacher, said in a monotone voice. For someone who is telling people to be friendly…

"Hello fellow classmates. I'm Ivan. Pleasure to meet all of you." Ivan said with his big, goofy grin as he bowed. I could already see some of the students smiling at his antics. I could tell that some of them were already liking him. I, on the other, had turned back to observing Annabeth. Her face was pale, and she was clenching her fist tightly, with the same expression as previously. She looked like she was going to have a nervous breakdown.

I frowned. Did she know this new guy? I wonder…if it is from her past, it most probably isn't good. And judging by her reaction, it definitely is _not _good.

I turned my eyes back to Ivan and studied him. His body posture was confident, like a leader. I then studied his body. Slightly muscular, maybe from a sports background. I then looked at his eyes, and my frown deepened. Even though he was acting all goofy, easy-going, cheerful and nice boy, I could see that he was anything but that. He had cruelty inside his eyes, and also arrogance and pride.

He suddenly froze as his eyes fell upon something. His eyes widened slightly in shock, but he recovered quickly. His grin stretched, but now, I could see a hint of evilness…it was a sadistic smile. I followed his line of sight, and wasn't surprised when it I found out that it was Annabeth he was staring at. Annabeth was shaking uncontrollably now, sweating slightly and breathing short breaths. My eyes widened. She might actually hyperventilate. I quickly gripped her shaking, clenched fist with my own, and looked at her in the eye when she turned to me.

What I saw in the eyes made me want to kill Ivan for whatever he did. I saw fear, nervousness, pain, resentment, anger, depression…all the negative emotions. She was looking at me with wild eyes, shaking, eyes wide.

"Calm down. I'm here." I said to her in a soothing voice. When she heard me, her breathing slowed down a little and she her shaking reduced slightly. She was still very stressed out though…

"Annabeth, take a deep breath, and let it out. Repeat the process." I said to her. She took a deep breath, and let it out, and she relaxed a little more. After a few more times of the same exercise, she finally stopped shaking uncontrollably, and her eyes were now normal size. I could see tears forming in her eyes before she looked down.

"I…I…" She whispered out. She was still shivering slightly. I frowned. She can't continue to stay in school like this, much less go to work..

"We're going back to your house now. I won't listen to any protests." I said to her as I packed up my stuff. She didn't even reply. She was hugging herself now, and still shivering. I then helped her pack her stuff too.

"Mr Jackson, did I tell you to pack your things?" Mrs Lim called out in a stern voice. I looked up and stared into her eyes, and then tilted my head towards Annabeth. Her eyes shifted to Annabeth, and they widened when she saw Annabeth's shivering form.

"Wha-" Mrs Lim started to ask, but I cut her off.

"She's not feeling well, as you can see. I'll bring her to her house. I don't think I'll be coming back today. Sorry Mrs Lim." I said in a steely voice. I then picked up both our bags and then pulled Annabeth to her feet before walking out of the classroom, leaving a very stunned Mrs Lim and students behind. Before I went through the door though, I saw Ivan smirking. Anger welled up inside me, but I chose to ignore it. I had to take care of Annabeth first and find out from her what's wrong.

The journey back to the house seemed to be excruciatingly long, but that was probably due to the fact that I was worried sick about Annabeth and wanted to bring her back to her house as fast as possible. She still hadn't said anything since class. Her body was still shivering, she was still hugging herself, her face was still looking down with hair covering it, and she was sobbing softly. Damn it…

I sighed in relief as the house finally came into view. Once we reached the house door, I quickly opened it and helped Annabeth inside. I then gently made her sit on the couch while put down the bags and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water for her.

After placing it down in front of her, I was at a lost of what to do.

"Annabeth…can you please tell me why you are like this…I want to help you…" I whispered softly to her as I sat beside her on the couch. To my utter surprise, she suddenly leaned on me and sobbed into my shoulder. Knowing that she needed comfort and time, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, letting her cry. She needed to let it out first before being able to calm down.

I don't know how long we sat there. Her sobbing into my shoulder, me hugging her close to me, comforting her.

Slowly but surely, her sobs quieted down, and only her sniffing could be heard. I then felt her lift her head and body away. I unwrapped my arm and turned towards her, looking at her as she slowly lifted her head. Her eyes were red from crying, and some of her hair was stuck to her face due to the tears.

"Annabeth…can you tell me now?" I asked as I handed her the glass of water. She took it and slowly lifted it up to her lips. After taking a long sip, she put the glass of water back onto the table in front of the couch.

"Ivan…is a guy from my precious school." Annabeth whispered softly, so softly that I had to move my head closer to hear her even though we were only half an arm's length away from each other.

"He…was a popular guy. He had status of being a strong person, and lead a popular group of students. They were popular because…they were the toughest in the school, even better than the seniors…and they liked to pick on people." Annabeth whispered. She then took a shaky breath.

"He…always liked to bully others…especially me." Annabeth said, and anger swelled up inside me, making me grit my teeth and clench my fist. Annabeth didn't seem to notice, as she was too concentrated on recounting her past life.

"Sometimes, he would hit me. Sometimes, he would corner me and extort money from me. He always shouts insults at me in public, and often tripped me whenever I walked to my seat. No one ever helped me. In fact, they…" Annabeth stopped and took another shaky breath. I rubbed circles on her back, trying to soothe her. "They supported him, throwing insults at me all the time. I was always late for school, always had detention because of my work. Many did not help me because they were either too scared or thought that I deserved it." She said, and chocked back a sob.

"Those times were the one of the two worst periods of my life…I had no friends, no one at all. Teachers scorned me, students jeered at me, bullies beat me. I…" Annabeth trailed off as she started to sob again. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to me. She cried into my chest as I held her. A stray thought hit me. Isn't this something couples do?

I shook my head vigorously. I was only being a brother to her, nothing more. Sure, I was affectionate to her, but that's how I treat Thalia too, not that Thalia ever cried onto me. She was too hardened for that…well, there's Nico for her to cry on if she ever breaks, so…

"Annabeth," I said when her sobbing subsided again. She looked up and stared at me. I smiled kindly and gently back at her. "I will always help you when you need it. I won't be like whatever people you met in the past that brought you hurt. Don't worry." I said. She was quiet for a few seconds as she looked down.

"Promise?" She asked softly as she looked at me again. She was settling down already, but I could tell she was exhausted by the whole ordeal.

"I promise," I said with a smile. For the first time since class, she gave me a smile. It was a small, weak and watery one, but it was a smile. "C'mon, you have to rest. No, I won't allow you to go to work today. You can explain when you're better. You. Are. Going. To. Rest." I said sternly as she opened her mouth protest, and closed it when I finished. She then quietly nodded. I grinned.

Go and bathe. I'll prepare some cookies for you. Then, you need to sleep. Once again, please don't protest. You should know by now you can never stop me from doing anything." I said and gave her a teasing grin. She pouted a little, seemingly forgetting momentarily about what she had just went through.

"Fine…" She said and went to her room to bathe. She was already recovering from her ordeal. I smiled at that, and then got up. I had to go back to my house to collect the ingredients to bake the cookies, and that was what I did.

Forty minutes later, Annabeth came out of the shower. Her eyes widened as she looked at the cookies on the table in front of the couch in hunger. I chuckled at her expression.

"Come and eat. Stop gaping like a tadpole, Wise Girl." I said with a teasing smile. She glared at me as she walked.

"Yea, yea, Seaweed Brain." She said before sitting beside me. She then swiftly popped one of the cookies into her mouth, and her eyes widened once again. She then looked at me in awe.

"Did you go for world-class baking lessons or something? Everything you bake is delicious!" She exclaimed before munching down the rest of the cookies.

"Woah, woah. Don't choke yourself. No, I didn't go for any classes. I learned it from the internet." I replied to her as she continued to eat. She didn't even seem to hear me as she was so concentrated on the cookies. She was smiling like a little girl who just ate something nice and was then addicted to it. I smiled.

"Ah…thanks for the cookies, Percy. I…I'm sorry for troubling you so much…" Annabeth said. I sighed. She…she…oh gods, can she ever get it.

"Annabeth, as I said so many times before, I _want_ to do this. You're not troubling me at all. So stop worrying about troubling me." I said. She looked at the ground for a while, before lifting her head to look back at me.

"You…meant it when you promised me just now, right?" She asked timidly. I observed her pleading eyes, her tensed body.

"Yes, I meant it. I will always be there when you need me. Now, enough talk, lets get you to bed." I said as I got up. She slowly stood up too and walked towards her bedroom.

I looked at my watch as I followed her. Huh, it was eleven. I guess she won't be taking lunch now, seeing that she had just eaten more than twenty cookies.

"Thank you, Percy…for everything. I know I may have said this before, but thank you anyway." Annabeth said softly as she lay down on her bed. I smiled at her kindly.

"No problem," I said as I turned on the air conditioner and adjusted the temperature. "Now, go to sleep. I'll wake you up for dinner. You ARE coming to my house for dinner tonight. No exceptions." I said firmly as I drew the curtains. The sunlight dimmed and faintly lit up her room.

"Percy…thank you…" Annabeth said. I sat on her desk chair and smiled at her.

"As I said, no problem. Now, go to sleep. I'll leave one you do." I said.

"You don't have to act like a mother hen all the time, Seaweed Brain." She said and chuckled. I glared at her, but I was smiling faintly.

"Yea, whatever. Go to sleep." I said. She smiled at me one last time before closing her eyes. Twenty seconds later her breath got deeper, and I knew she was in peaceful slumber.

"Sleep tight." I whispered before walking out of her room and closing the door behind me. I then sighed and whipped out my phone.

"Hello, Mr Robert? Yes, this is Percy. I came to tell you that Annabeth is feeling sick again and can't come to work.. I can't tell you the reason, but I was hoping that you would…" I talked on the phone as I went to collect the plate of cookie crumbs.


	30. Trusting friends

**GUYS LOOK HERE! I EDITED ABIT BECAUSE SOMEONE WANTED ME TO CHANGE THE PART ABOUT ANNABETH REPEATING HERSELF. I ALSO FOUND IT NOT QUITE GOOD, SO I DECIDED TO CHANGE THAT PART. I TOTALLY REWROTE THAT PART, AND I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU READ IT!  
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**Hello guys, I'm sorry but i cant update as fast as december anymore because of school. But i will still try to update at least twice a week! If worst comes to worst, once a week XD **

**Okay, this is for all the readers. I know many of you want Percy and Annabeth to become a couple, but they WON'T become a couple anytime soon... i'm really sorry for any disappointments...but I don't want to change my plot too much and Annabeth still has some problems, and i may focus on Thalia and Nico plus maybe Jason and Piper...I'm trying to make as much PERCABETH as possible. They will be extremely affectionate to each other, but not a couple. Bear with me please .  
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**And i really have a problem-some people want Nico's problems to be described, and also want Thalico plus Jasper, so the story will be quite long, so...please be patient. oh, and THANKS FOR THE MANY REVIEWS, ESPECIALLY ALLISON237GREEK FOR PRACITCALLY SPAMMING REVIEWS :D  
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**Annabeth's POV**

"Annabeth," I heard someone call me, but the voice sounded so far away, and I felt a hand shaking my body. I groaned and turned away from the hand. "Annabeth. Wake up. It's dinner time." The voice sounded a little clearer than before, and I groaned again. I slowly opened my eyes, and squinted as light rays from the ceiling lamp pierced my eyes. I raised my and covered my eyes, not wanting to see that damn light again anytime soon.

"Annabeth, c'mon. Don't be a pig." I heard the person say as he sighed. I was able to recognize it as Percy's voice now.

"The light's too bright…" I whined as I shifted onto my side.

"Oh. I'll dim the lights then." Percy said, and I heard him waking from my bedside towards the door, where the switches were located on the wall beside it

"There, I've dimmed it. You should be able to open your eyes without them hurting too much now." Percy said. I slowly opened my eyes, and took note that the room was considerably darker, and also that my eyes wasn't hurting anymore. I slowly sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"Hi Percy…are we late for school again?" I asked, my thoughts about the past events still fuzzy. He looked at me weirdly, and then chuckled at me.

"What's so funny?" I asked with an annoyed frown. He finally stopped chuckling and smiled at me, but his sea green eyes were focused on mine, and they had utter seriousness in it.

"Annabeth, you almost hyperventilated during school just now when you saw Ivan, and I brought you back to your home for you to rest as you were clearly unfit for school." Percy said. My eyes widened, and everything became clear. I winced as I felt a sharp pain and placed a hand on my head.

"Are you alright?" I heard Percy asked. I looked at him and smiled a little painfully.

"Y-yea. I just got back all the memories. Getting back all at one go isn't really that pleasant for my brain." I said weakly as the pain subsided.

"If you need more rest, I can bring over your food, and once you're done, you can go back to sleep." Percy said in a worried tone. I shook my head, smiling at him as I stood up shakily. I immediately felt him grab my hand and pull it across his shoulder while he put his other arm around mine, supporting me.

"Are you sure? You can rest here you know? I don't mind." He said as we slowly walked. I shook my head again and smiled at him. I had had enough kindness from him already.

"I'm fine. You can stop supporting me now. I feel better already." I said. He looked at me uncertainly.

"You sure?" he asked. I nodded. He then slowly unwrapped both our arms, but still held my arm just in case I fell down. I took a cautious step forward, and when I didn't feel like my legs would fail and fall down, I took another step, and was soon walking at normal pace already. Percy trailed behind me, having let go of my arm once I had started walking normally.

"I forgot to tell you, Nico, Thalia, Grover and Juniper would be there too. They have lots of questions to ask you," he said, and frowned. "They also said that Ivan had acquainted himself with the group, and was making good progress today." I looked at him in shock. No, he can't…is he going to ruin my new life? This is the best one I had in years, why…why?

Percy, seeing me starting to panic, immediately grabbed my hand and squeezed it comfortingly as we walked towards Percy's house. I looked at him, and saw him smiling reassuringly at me.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he won't get into the group. I'll also make sure he never messes with you, or anyone in the group, ever again. Tomorrow." He said darkly. I gaped at him in shock.

"Are you thinking of beating him up? Don't, Percy. It'll get you into a lot of trouble. Ivan's also a very good fighter. Please, don't fight him at all. I don't wnt you to get hurt." I said pleadingly. He sighed.

"I won't really fight him. I just want to get a few words across to him. After hearing from you what he had done to you in the past, I'm not going to let him get anywhere near you and the group." He said firmly. I looked at him and saw his honest and determined eyes staring down at me. His eyes were swirling, as usual, but it seemed to be more…rough. The swirling. Like the sea in a storm, where the waves are larger and more violent than usual.

"No, Percy, he won't back down. He would just get you into a lot of trou-" I was cut short as his hand came to my mouth. This wasn't the first time he stopped me in mid-speech like that. I frowned at him, irritated.

"Annabeth," he said and sighed, exasperated. "I assure you that nothing he does will be able to harm me in any way. He's just a bully who thinks he's high and mighty, thinking that he's the top of the world, when he doesn't even know how violent and sick the world could be. He doesn't know anything. He's nothing but a piece of trash, thinking that it can resist the trash bin." Percy said coldly, and my eyes widened slightly in shock at his cold tone. And the way he said it…it's as though he knows how truly cruel the world could be, how terrifying and horrible it was in many cases. I glanced sideways at his eyes as he looked forward, the house getting nearer as we walked, and was surprised.

His usually warm, swirling eyes were now cold, like a rock. Yet…even though his face expression was still the same, his eyes looked like it was ancient, as though it had seen many horrible things, had experienced many horrible things.

"Percy…do you have-" I was cut mid-sentence _again_ as a flying Juniper crashed into me and hugged me when Percy opened his house door. Juniper hugged me for another two seconds before puling back and examined me from head to toe.

"Annabeth!" She finally said with a smile after ensuring that I had no injuries anywhere. "I was so worried! When I saw you hyperventilating just now, I was so damn scared! Percy wouldn't tell me why you were so panicked, saying that it was for you to tell us by yourself. Is it because of Ivan?" Juniper asked. When my body stiffened, her eyes widened.

"So it _is_ him! Wait, lets go back inside first! Thalia and the rest are very worried about you too!" Juniper exclaimed and pulled me into the house.

When I got into the kitchen, Nico, Grover and Thalia were all sitting on their seats. When they saw me, Thalia immediately did exactly what Juniper did and hugged me, and then ensures that I didn't have any injuries before opening her mouth to ask questions. I sighed in relief when I heard him. I wasn't really prepared to answer the questions yet. I needed a few minutes to think.

"Thalia, let her get seated first before you start asking her a load of questions." Percy said as he walked towards his seat and sat down. Thalia huffed in impatience, but listened and went back to her seat while I went to mine.

Once we were all seated down, I could feel the atmosphere being tense. It wasn't the 'I don't like you and you don't like me' kind of tense. It was the 'I want answers, and I want it NOW' kind of tense. All of them except Percy were fidgeting in their seats, impatient. I could feel their worried eyes on me as I looked down at the food, trying to think about what I was going to say.

"Lets start eating first. Annabeth just woke up and should probably be hungry now," Percy announced, and proceeded to eat. "I know you guys are impatient, but please wait." Percy added. I heard huffs of annoyance and impatience as they started to eat too. A few seconds later, I slowly started to eat too.

The dinner was quite silent. Even Grover ate without his normal enthusiasm. I haven't heard Nico and Grover speak at all, but I could feel their eyes staring at me, studying my body language and trying to predict what was wrong. I could hear Thalia gulping big scoops of food hurriedly as she tried to finish quickly so that they would be able to know what was wrong faster. I glanced up and saw that Juniper was shifting restlessly on her seat as she ate. Only Percy was the calm one, and smiled at me comfortingly as he caught my glance. His eyes had lost that coldness I saw when we were walking towards his house. They were back to the same old kind, caring, warm eyes. I gave a small smile back in return and went back to my food.

Once we were done, Percy stood up. "Guys, I'll wash the dishes. You guys can go out to the living room and talk it out, since I already know about most of it." He said. The others nodded and left the kitchen. I was the last to stand up. I could see the expectant and yet worried faces looking back at me from the living room. I then turned around and saw that Percy was smiling at me.

"Go on, you can trust them. They're the best of the best friends I have, and my most trusted ones too. They won't patronize you in any way." Percy said in a reassuring voice. I steadied myself, and nodded, giving him a small smile.

"I guess I'll tell then…" I muttered as I walked out to the living room. The others were already sitting on the sofas. I went to seat on an empty one-the middle one, as there were three sofas, facing a table in the center- and took a deep breath, waiting for them to ask their questions. I could hear the tap running from the kitchen as Percy washed the dishes.

"So…can you tell us now why you hyperventilated in class when you saw Ivan? Is he someone from your past that harmed you?" Nico asked first, raising his eyebrow. I stared at him in shock. When he saw my shocked expression, he shrugged.

"Well, I'm not that stupid to take first impressions seriously. Even if he seems like a nice guy, I don't know whether he really is nice. Judging by the timing of your sudden illness and his entrance, I'm pretty sure it's about him." Nico explained. Everyone was staring at him, and he shrugged again.

"Hey, I may not be like Percy who can read people just by looking at their eyes most of the time, but I have a brain." He said with a scowl. Thalia punched Nico's arm lightly. I frowned. Percy could read people by just looking at their eyes?

"We never said you didn't have a brain." She said with a smile, which made Nico's scowl lighten up a bit.

"Yea, whatever. Let's get back onto topic. Am I right?" Nico asked and stared at me. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat as the four pairs of eyes stared at me.

"Hey, don't need to be so stressed," Grover said in a soothing voice. "We just want to know why you were so stressed out then." He finished and smiled encouragingly at me. I took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly.

And I told them. I told them about my time in that horrible school. The beatings, the bullying, the torture and the hell. I told them about the insults that were thrown at me non-stop by everyone, and how everyone had supported him. I told them how unpopular i was in that time, in that school.

I told them everything about that school life.

The words gushed out of me, rushing out like an unstoppable waterfall. I couldn't stop, I just couldn't. I was afraid that anytime I stopped, I would suddenly lose my voice to carry on. The emotions, the memories. They all came flying back into me. Things that i have buried deep within my heart escaped, and tears started gushing out like the words that came out of my mouth.

The memories were so vivid now, the hurtful words, the pain from beatings, the bleak state of my previous apartment, the lonely surroundings, the taunting faces. Ivan's face. My body racked as i sobbed. It was so damn painful, to think about it. The memories made feelings rise back once more.

Humiliation. Pain. Loneliness. The cold. The tears. The anguish

And the despair.

The despair suddenly filled my heart, and i felt like it was really going to burst. I started sobbing hysterically after the last word of my speech came out, the despair making my heart ache. The memories making my brain hurt. I clutched my heart and gasped. I was hyperventilating again.

Suddenly, I felt strong arms wrap around me, holding me close. I embraced it, the warmth, the companionship, the true spirit of a friend.

"It's okay…he's not a big shot in this school. He never will be. We will never let him be." Thalia whispered as she held me. Her tone was compassionate, kind, caring.

My heart slowly calmed down, the despair being pushed away by the warmth of the embrace, and the memories that came with it.

Friends who cared, people who accepted me, people who held me in their arms, people who invited me to go out with them. Every single memory from my stay here came rushing back as Thalia held me in her arms. And the brightest memory came back, calming me down significantly. There was a reason why I had not reacted this way when I shared it with him.

The introduction. The friendliness he had shown immediately.

The discovery we sat beside each other in every class. The small talk we had. Him introducing me to the group of friends.

The night when he had picked me up from work at one in the morning. The night when he had brought me dinner.

The mornings when he had missed school for me, to take care of me. The meals he had prepared for me when I was sick. My first taste of Asian food.

The keys we had entrusted to each other. The trust we held that night, and is still growing everyday.

The first morning when he made me breakfast. The first morning we went to school together.

The time when he had invited me over to his house for dinner. The book he gave to me. The afternoon he taught me how to bake.

The time he had brought me back home after Ivan. The afternoon when he had held me against him as I cried my heart out.

The afternoon he had baked his excellent cookies for me. The afternoon he had tucked me in bed when I was sick.

The friends I had now around me because of him.

Percy.

My sobs slowly subsided into soft hiccups, The memories. Mostly of Percy now, and also a few of the groups.

When they noticed that I had calmed down, they decided to add into the conversation.

"Yea, he'll have to go through us." Grover piped in, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Hm, I'll make him suffer. He's already trying to get close to the others with that fake personality." Nico hissed angrily.

"Ohh…I'll tell my friends never to trust him and just stay away from him." Juniper said in anger. I looked up at all of them and smiled widely, even with the tears rolling down my cheeks.

"Really? Will you do that?" I asked them. I was used to Percy's kindness, but I've only seen and talked to these people a couple of times…and yet…

"Of course!" Thalia exclaimed as she drew back and stared at me in the eye. I could see the burning anger inside, plus the determination to bring down Ivan. "I will never let him harm you!" She finished.

"Th-thanks…I… how can I repay you guys…?" I asked between sniffles.

"We don't need repayment. We're doing this because we _want _to help you." Nico said, and the others nodded in agreement. More tears flowed down my cheeks, happiness overwhelming me as much as their kindness.

"Yea, he's totally right!" Juniper added. "Even though it may sound arrogant, it is a fact that all of us are very popular in school. We rarely use it to get back at people. Usually, we settle it among ourselves privately, but for those who truly deserve very nasty things to happen to them, we would use our connections. Nothing much is worse than that." Juniper finished. I looked up in surprise, and then shook my head.

"No…I don't…I mean…he deserves it but I…" I kept pausing, not knowing what to say. Truthfully, I wanted him to suffer, suffer at least a little bit of what I had suffered, but I didn't want it to be that bad…

Juniper opened her mouth, but closed it when the sound of the tap rushing stopped, making the place seem abnormally quiet.

"Well…nothing much is worse than us except Percy…" Nico muttered. I looked at him quizzically. What did he mean?

"Nothing, nothing. Just saying something unrelated." Nico said and waved his hand. I nodded slowly, but what he said was still in the front of my mind. What did he mean…? Also, what was with Percy being able to read people just by looking into their eyes. I suddenly realized that I knew very little about him. Very little.

"So, you guys finished talking?" Percy asked as he sat beside me. He looked at my tear-stained face, and frowned.

"You okay?" he asked worriedly. I nodded, smiling at him. The memories now at the front of my mind.

"Actually, we were just starting to talk about what to do to that Ivan." Thalia said.

"Yea, well, its late. Annabeth needs her rest. Let's just settle with making sure everyone on the group doesn't fall for Ivan's deception first before deciding what to do with him. It's better that way. If not, the others may think we're being selfish or something for making someone so miserable without a good reason," Percy said with a smirk. "Nico, Grover, Juniper, you guys should go home soon too. I'll send Annabeth home first." He stated. The others immediately opened their mouths to protest, but after a fierce glare from Percy, shut their mouths and nodded. Wow, talk about authority…or maybe its just respect.

"Let's go." He said to me with a grin. I grinned back and stood up.

"Bye guys. I'll see you tomorrow." I called out as we left the house. The last thing I saw before the door closed was them waving goodbye to me. I smiled. They really were good friends.

"I told you they wouldn't ostracize you." Percy suddenly spoke out while we walked towards my house. I chuckled.

"I guess…I was just a little afraid…you know…" I muttered sadly. I had lost hope in any kind of kindness and joy long ago. This was…a miracle.

"I get it." Percy said, and we continued walking in comfortable silence.

"Well, see you tomorrow, I guess. You don't need to send me in. Really. You've already done so much more than I ever thought anyone would do. Thank you." I said to him. He looked like he wanted to protest, but seeing my serious expression, he gave in and nodded.

"Just remember that I wanted to do all that, not needed," He said, and gave me a hug. My eyes widened in shock when I felt his arms around me. "I'll keep my promise." Percy whispered into my ear, and drew back, grinning at me, before waving.

"See you tomorrow!" he said and gave me one last grin before turning back and walking towards his house. I stared at his back for a few more seconds in shock, trying to grasp what had just happened, and then quickly went inside the house and closed the door before he could turn back and see me staring at him.

I slowly hugged myself. That hug was different from the others. The other hugs had been to comfort me. This hug was to show affection…something that I had never gotten since I was four.

He would keep his promise. I'm sure of it now. He's not like _him,_ not like any one I had ever met in the past few years.

"Thank you for all this, Percy..." I whispered, and smiled. "Thank you for everything."

I was still smiling when I went to sleep, drifting off into peaceful slumber, forgetting all about Ivan for the moment.


	31. Conflict

******Hello guys. I'm really sorry about the slow update, bus as i said- I've started school. I'm busy. Even now, since I promised to update weekly, I'm still writing this at three in the morning. I'm sorry for the slow update.  
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**Well, This chapter may or may not be good. I hope you don't find it a little too drama-ish or so lols...please R&R! thanks for all the reviews that were given! By the way, i changed the part where Annabeth told her story to Thalia and the others in the previous chapter, so if you feel like it, you can go read the previous chapter.  
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**Thalia's POV**

"Sorry, Thalia. I have to go pick Piper up, so I can't walk with you today…" Jason said to me with a regretful expression. I frowned at him and waved him off.

"Go and pick your girlfriend up. I don't mind walking alone." I said offhandedly as I ate my toast. Good thing Percy had made breakfast before going over to care for Annabeth, otherwise Jason and I would starve to death. Even if we tried to make something for ourselves, we would most probably just burn down the whole kitchen due to our lack of cooking skills.

"Are you sure…? I can always go opposite to ask Percy whether you can go to school with them…" he asked quietly. I rolled my eyes, pretending to be exasperated. On the inside though…

"Yes, I'm extremely sure, now go and pick her up." I said with an exasperated tone. He slowly nodded at me after observing me for a few seconds before leaving.

Once I heard the door close, I sighed heavily and rested my head on the table. Things are changing again. Last time, it was at least the two of us going to school together from that woman's house. But then, he found Piper, and slowly but surely, the number of days he skipped us walking together to pick Piper grew.

Then, we shifted here, to Percy's house. For a few days, we walked together again, with the addition of Percy. And yet again, things happened. Jason started to fetch Piper again, and Percy suddenly started to attend to Annabeth. They both were so busy now; I was mostly alone whenever I walk to school.

"Damnit, Nico, why can't you be here when I need you to be…" I muttered softly. Being alone again…in the past, it would have never bothered me. I was always alone in the pass, and yet, at that time, I never felt this. This loneliness, this emptiness…have I grown used to having company so much I can never handle being alone now?

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I looked up and stared at the door with a frown. Could it be Jason? No, Jason has the keys, and so does Percy. Who the hell would be visiting so early, on a school day?

The answer came when I saw a smiling Nico standing at the door. Speak of the devil…I was just muttering about him a few seconds ago, and there he was, standing at the door, smiling at me brightly

My jaws dropped when I saw him, and my eyes opened wide. To tell the truth, I thought I was dreaming. Why the hell was he here? The very person I was wishing for a few seconds ago was right in front of me.

"Um, hello? Yo, Thalia, you still alive?" Nico asked with his soft voice as he waved a pale hand in front of my face. I blinked and snapped out of my daze, closing my mouth.

"Nico, what are you doing here?" I asked in surprise. He was wearing a casual polo black shirt and blue jeans, smiling and grinning. He shrugged when he heard my question.

"Well, I just wanted to see you early, that's all." He said with a cheeky grin. I looked up at him in surprise, and slowly, the loneliness and emptiness I was feeling minutes ago melted away, replaced by the warmth and care from the person in front of me. I was overjoyed, so much that I couldn't help but rush into him and hug him tightly. I felt his body jerk back a little in surprise, but almost immediately eased. He then wrapped his arms around me.

"Thanks, Nico," I whispered softly into his ear. "You're the best." I said and pulled back, grinning widely at him. I chuckled at the light red hue that had appeared on his cheeks before turning around and skipping back into the house.

"W-wait! Where are you going?" Nico called after me, his voice filled with curiosity as well as a hint of embarrassment.

"I'm going to take my bag! Be back in a few secs!" I called back, skipping into my room to collect my bag.

I was still grinning widely when we left the street to go to school.

When we walked into our class, we immediately spotted Ivan chatting happily with Chris and Beckendorf. When he saw us, he waved and smiled widely. We merely glared at him and walked forward, ignoring his greetings.

When we were seated, we decided to study Ivan a little more. He was already back to talking happily with Beckendorf and Chris.

"They already seem to have been brought into his trap." Nico said angrily. I frowned, studying Ivan closely.

"I can't believe we didn't notice it before," I said to Nico, who looked at me questioningly. "Can you see it? His face, its all a facade. Even his laugh is fake. They're all forced. He's just trying to win us all over, since Annabeth is in our group of friends. I bet sooner or later, he would start spreading rumors to them about Annabeth in her precious schools." I finished. Nico scowled, and let out a huff of frustration.

"Beckendorf is one of the most hard-headed guy in school. If he makes up his mind that Ivan is a good person, it would be hard to convince him otherwise." Nico said, his tone a little worried.

I was about to reply him when I spotted Annabeth and Percy walking into the classroom. Annabeth looked nervous, whereas Percy looked…well, like he always does. Cheerful, happy and all. We saw Annabeth's eyes widen as she spotted Ivan, and only stopped panicking when Percy put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

We glanced back to see Ivan staring at them with a smile that looked almost menacing. I gritted my teeth, trying to hold my anger in. It wouldn't do any good to explode right now. It would just get me detention without getting anything done.

Percy smiled at us widely as they passed our table, waving a a greeting. I rolled my eyes. What the hell, how many times must I tell him that he should say a 'hello' instead of just waving? At least Annabeth had enough courtesy to give us a watery smile and whisper 'hello'…

I quickly grabbed Annbeth's hand and tugged at her lightly. She looked back at me, and I could see the fear, anxiety and nervousness in them. I signaled for her to bend closer, and she did so.

"We got your back. Don't worry. Especially if you have Percy on your back." I said with a comforting smile as I squeezed her hand reassuringly. She gave a small smile back.

"Thank you…" She whispered softly, and let go as she walked briskly past everyone. We kept an eye on her as she walked past Ivan. We could see her body tensing up considerably as she passed by him, and we could also see the glare that Ivan shot at her. It was so short that not many people would have noticed. But, hey, we're not masters in weapon art class for nothing!

We both couldn't concentrate in class due to thinking about how to convince the others about Ivan. It would be difficult, seeing as he had gotten closer to the other members I the group the previous day. Still, we had to think and try.

Period after period passed. We were separated from them as we changed our classes after every period. Finally, the lunch bell rang. We immediately stood up and packed out things swiftly before saying a quick 'goodbye' to our teacher before going to the canteen. When we reached there, we saw Ivan talking seriously with Beckendorf, Chris, Silena, Clarisse, Travis and Connor as they sat on the usual table. They were all frowning as they listened to Ivan tell whatever he was telling.

"-and she actually cursed him loudly. I mean, she hardly has any temper control, you know? No one really curses someone just because they accidentally drop her pen." Ivan finished.

"It really doesn't seem like the Annabeth, you know? She's kind of quiet, and I don't really know her that well, but she doesn't seem to be that kind of person…" Travis muttered.

"She's only doing a facade," Ivan said convincingly. "Don't continue to make friends with her, she'll just use you before throwing you away." He finished. Our anger spiked to a very dangerous level when we heard that.

"Oh, hello there, Thalia, Nico. Sit down, please. I should really tell you something about Annabeth." Ivan said with a bright smile as we reached the table, but we could see it. The façade.

We were about to shout at them when Annabeth and Percy suddenly appeared beside us. When the others caught sight of us, the immediately glared at Annabeth. I looked at them in disbelief. What the fuck? They believed that guy?

"Annabeth, is it really true that you were always late for school? You do know that's a bad habit, and it shows quite a lot about your character." Beckendorf said in a reprimanding tone. Annabeth immediately shrunk back as Beckendorf and the others glared at her.

"Was it true that you actually cursed someone for dropping your pen?" Travis asked, in a tone similar to Beckendorf.

"Did you really make a junior cry?" Connor asked.

While all the questions was bombarding Annabeth, said person was breaking down mentally. We could see it, her eyes were watering. Her shoulders were shaking- her whole body was-, her lips were trembling. She was breaking. I could see the pleased smirk on Ivan's face, and that enraged me. I decided to step in before anything got worse.

"Guys, all those things he said are either lies, or has very good explanations to answer them. Don't listen to that liar," I spat out as I pointed to Ivan, who was pretending to look shocked. "He was the one who bullied Annabeth throughout her previous school's life!" I almost shouted. Luckily, due to the din of the whole canteen, not a lot of people could hear us. Those who did seem to know who I was and pretended to not notice me. Till this day, there were still people who feared me.

"What she says are lies! We hardly know anything about her! Ivan even says she may be a slut! She goes out every afternoon to who knows where, and comes back the next day looking tired, and sometimes she's even ill!" Beckendorf exclaimed.

"What the fuck! You believe him on that?" I screamed at him.

"Well, at least his story actually makes sense." Clarisse added in. Her tone was kind of bored though- she was never interested in these kinds of squabbles.

"Why the hell do you believe him. He just came on Monday, and you already believe him?" Grover asked as he and Juniper suddenly appeared beside Annabeth. Their presence seemed to comfort Annabeth a bit, and Annabeth relaxed a little.

"You believe her too? Really?" Chris asked in disbelief. Like he was the one to be in disbelief.

"Of course I do! How can you even think she's a slut? If you see her attitude, she's perfectly fine, and may even be better than others! And seriously, no one would curse another person for accidentally dropping a pen." Nico said, his tone strained as he tried not to explode in anger.

As the arguments continued, I looked at Ivan and saw him smirking in triumph. I then realized that he had not wanted to win all of us. Well, at least not immediately. He wanted to create discord in out close-knit group, so he could one by one gain the supprot of everyone. He caught my glare, and mouthed, "I win."

My anger rose above the limit and I was about to punch him right in the fucking face when I felt a hand grasped my shoulder. I spun around to knock out whoever was stopping me, but stopped immediately when I saw Percy's green eyes staring into mine. His face was calm, but the thin lips, the slightly larger eyes, and the violent swirling in his eyes was more than enough to tell me he had enough. I realized that he had not said a word during this whole argument. He nodded at me, and I could tell he was asking em to let him settle this. After a few seconds, I let out a huff and relaxed.

After all, if anyone could resolve this, it would be him, and only him.

"Stop." One simple word, and everyone went quiet. Even the surrounding people who heard his steely voice immediately stopped whatever they were doing to look. I shivered at the voice. This voice was used only when Percy was really, _really_ pissed off.

Everyone looked at him cautiously. He stared into every single pair of eyes of the people who were against Annabeth, and then rested on Beckendorf.

"Do you trust my words, or the words of a person who just arrived two days ago?" He questioned. All of them shifted uncomfortably, but Beckendorf held his gaze.

"The circumstances support his statements." Beckendorf said, but I could hear the slight shiver in his voice.

"Do you trust my words, or the words of a person who just arrived two days ago?" Percy asked again. A simple sentence, and yet it meant a whole history to every single on of them on the table.

Every single one of their lives had been affected greatly by Percy in the past.

Beckendorf held his gaze for a few more moments, but I could see his resolve shaking. Finally, after twenty seconds of silence, he broke away.

"Of course, I trust your words, Percy." Beckendorf said quietly as he looked down in some kind of shame. Percy nodded, and then stared at Ivan.

I couldn't help but snigger at Ivan's face. The expression was priceless. He was so damn bloody shocked of what had just happened. His jaw was hanging, his eyes extremely wide. I could also see that he was shivering…in fear. Fear at the simple, steely, and yet firm, powerful and majestic voice of Percy's-when he was angry, of course.

"Get out. Bring your lies to somewhere else that doesn't affect Annabeth." He said, his face still calm, but there was a very heavy tension in the air. It was as though his body was emitting such a powerful aura that the whole air was dense and thick, heavy.

Ivan shook a little, thinking about whether to fight, or whether to run. He finally stood up and glared, albeit weakly, at Percy.

"I'll get you back soon. You better watch out, Chase." Ivan hissed at Annabeth, who shrank a little under his glare, but immediately calmed down once again when Percy placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"And you better watch out. You'll have to deal with all of us," He said, pointing at all of us, "Before you can get through to her." He said calmly.

"Fuck you," Ivan spat, his façade gone, replaced by the bully that Annabeth described. "Like you can do shit to-"

"Get, Out. Now." Percy said, cutting him off. Percy narrowed his eyes and took a step towards Ivan. Ivan immediately jumped back, before straightening himself and walked off quickly, but not before giving us all a pathetic glare.

After a few seconds, Percy turned back to the others, who were now looking down in shame. Well, they had just seen the true Ivan, so I guess they believe us now…

"So," Percy said casually. "What's for lunch today?"


	32. Fear of being discovered

**Yo guys. This is quite a fast update, but it is a short chapter. This chapter mainly is foreshadowing to what would happen in the next few chapters. And its Percabeth :) **

**I have a question for all of you. Would you like me to continue this story on another book? i mean like, make a Life's complications part two or something, as I don't want to make this story too long. I'm just asking for your opinion on this. I'm thinking of writing a continuation on another book so that the chapters won't be too many, and i'm planning to have a time skip after Ivan, which is when I'll be writing the second book.  
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**Main point is that I'm planning to have a time skip of about a year after Ivan, and am planning to write it on another book so that this book won't look too draggy. What do you think?  
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**Btw, pls R&R! And thanks for all the reviews! Also, I'm thinking of making a whole new Percy Jackson story after Life's complications, and it probably would have more action, adventure and suspense.  
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**Annabeth's POV**

Days turned into weeks, and eventually into a month. In a blink of an eye, our first exams of the year were already coming. In other schools, many students wouldn't give a shit about such an exam, as it holds only a small percentage of the overall marks for the whole year.

Well, that's in other schools.

In this particular school, I was surprised to see that almost everyone had started to study hard for the exam, despite it holding such a meager amount of marks for the overall of the year. I guess the school's reputation is not just for show. I could see that many of the students here were actually very hard working.

"Annabeth, will you be coming on Thursday with us for our hangout?" Chris asked me with a friendly tone as we ate our lunch. Ever since that incident with Ivan, they had started to treat me better. Not that they had not been treating me badly in the past…its just that in the past, they did not converse with me a lot. Now, they started the conversations.

After hearing about my story, or most of it, from Thalia and the others, they had immediately come up to me and apologize. Even Clarisse came up to apologize, though she did it with much reluctance.

Ivan, on the other hand, left our classes. He had changed class; making sure that every class he went to did not have any of us inside. Whenever we saw him, though, he would shoot death glares at us. All we did was ignore him and continue doing what we were doing.

But, there was always something in his eyes when he looked at us. No, not us, at _me._ He always looked at me straight in the eye, glaring hard. There was something in his eyes…some kind of evil that lurks inside there…I shivered at guessing what he was thinking whenever he looked at me. I keep having this uneasiness everywhere I go, as though someone was watching my back, studying me.

"I guess so. I'm free every Thursday." I replied with a smile. Another good thing about the whole thing was that I was getting more comfortable with the group. I could make small talk with all of them now on friendly terms. I hadn't had many people to do that to for a long time…until Percy, and then Thalia, Grover and Nico. Of course, they're different. I don't just make small talk with those four…

For the first time ever, I finally have extremely close friends. I had acquaintances in the past- of course not in my previous school-, but never had any close friends. The 'close friends' I had in the past ended up being fakes. Till this day, even after two years…I still hurt deeply because of it.

"We'll be going to the lakeside shopping mall this Thursday," Beckendorf said as he fiddled with his food. "We'll be eating at a shop called "Eighteen chefs" or something. Heard their food's quite good."

Hearing this, I immediately tensed up, my brain frozen in shock. What…isn't that where I work…it can't be right? This must be a joke. It can't be such a coincidence, could it?

My fork clattered onto the table. Everyone immediately looked at me with confused and worried eyes.

"Annabeth, are you alright?" Silena asked with a worried frown. I tried to stop my hand from shaking, but I couldn't. They can't find out…no, they can't…

"Annabeth…?" Silena called cautiously. Apparently, they had heard that I hyperventilated in class…I guess they were afraid the same thing would happen now.

"I-I'm fine. I'm really fine, guys," I replied, giving a weak smile to reassure them as I got up shakily. My legs were that weak. "I just suddenly feel nauseous. I gotta go to the toilet for a while. Be back soon."

Thalia was about to stand up, but Percy beat her to it and stood up, walking to my side. I looked at him, and saw him nod very slightly. His eyes shone with understanding. He knew why I reacted the way I did. Of course he did. He then wrapped an arm around my shoulder and supported my weight.

"I'll bring her to the toilet. Um, yea, you guys can just sit down. Don't worry." Percy said before leading me away, saying 'excuse' me to everyone who was in the way. The canteen was bustling with people, as usual. I could see Thalia, Nico, Grover and Juniper's worried faces staring at me, as well as the rest of the group before the students walking about closed off the sight. A few students gave me a few glances, but most of them quickly looked away. I wondered why, until I caught one of their eyes. It looked like admiration, as well as a little fear and much respect. I would have wondered why, but my thoughts were stuck to the situation. They were going to where I work…if they find out I work there…they would look down on me…and then I would lose them…and then…

Percy eventually led me out of the canteen to a bench IN the garden as negative thoughts continuously purged my mind. The garden was a secluded area, as not many students bothered to go there. Percy led me there so that we would get privacy.

Percy slowly helped me sit onto the bench, and then sat beside me. My hand was still shivering, and my mind was still trying to process what was about to happen. I felt Percy pull me close to him, and I buried my face into his chest as I sobbed.

"Why?" I screamed into his chest, my voice muffled but still clear enough to be understood. "Why, why. Why?! Why can't I just enjoy my life here without all this problems coming at me? Why?" I screamed into his chest as the tears flowed uncontrollably.

I felt Percy wrap his other arm around me and held me against him tightly. I could feel the warmth in his embrace, the kindness and gentleness, the slight smell of the sea breeze on his shirt. Why his shirt smelled like the sea, I would never know, but all of them calmed me down significantly.

"It's alright," Percy whispered as he held me. "They won't look down on you. I'm sure of it. They're not that kind of people. You can tell them. Especially Nico, Thalia, Grover and Juniper. You are like family to them. We all consider you as a sister, and we will stand by you through thick and thin." He finished with a comforting smile as he squeezed my hand. By then, I had already calmed down. Tears no longer flowed from my eyes, but I realized that I had wet his whole shirt with my tears.

"I'm sorry," I apologized as I pulled back. He released me from his embrace, but held onto my hand. I immediately felt like something was missing, except for where he was holding my hand. I was already missing his warmth. "I wet your shirt with my tears…"

"No prob, Annabeth," He said with his usual easy-going voice and forgiving nature. "It's you who's going through a hard time now, not us. Don't worry about it." I gave him a watery smile.

"Percy…I don't know how many times I've already said 'thank you' for helping me. Really…thanks…" I chocked, tears starting to fall again. This time because I was grateful, ever so grateful. I just couldn't hold in my emotions. They flowed out by the tears. He hugged me again, and once again, I felt the warmth, gentleness…I felt happy.

That was also when I knew that even if they all didn't accept me, Percy would accept me. And as long as he was with me, I would be fine. I wouldn't be perfectly happy, but never alone, and Percy was actually the reason for most of the happiness in my life, and to know that he would be the one to stand by me... that alone makes me very happy already.

"C'mon," Percy said after five minutes of holding me. Lunch break was about to be over. "Lets get to class, and we would tell them after school or tomorrow. Unless you don't want to…" Percy questioned with an arched brow. I looked into his eyes, and saw the care and concern he held for me. Plus, he had told me that the others wouldn't look down on me just because I work, and Percy's words were always true. I nodded my head with a smile.

"Yes, I…I'll tell them, but later. Percy…I…will need you to be there…because…" I trailed off. He nodded in understanding, and stood up, smiling, and extended an arm towards me.

"Lets go." He said with a smile. A gentle, kind, caring, warm smile. Directed at me. I lifted my hand, and took his, and smiled back.


	33. Discussion

**It's been a while. I'm sorry guys, but I'm really busy lately. I'm sorry for the late update. I'm trying to add new styles to my writing too to improve it. Hopefully i'll improve.**

**Btw, Thanks for the awesome reviews! I appreciate it a lot. I don;t know when i would post the next chapter, but please be patient with me. Enjoy the chapter and R&R!**

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Jason's POV

I opened the door and stepped into Piper's house. The house was quite dark, safe for the small amount of light coming in through the windows. It was only six-fifty in the morning, and the sun was still rising. I heard the shower running, and smiled. Piper must be washing up.

Piper's dad is some extremely popular actor somewhere in the world, and was hardly home, so she more or less lived alone. Much like Percy, though his reasons are different. I was never interested in films and movies, and never watched one until Piper dragged me to watch one. That time was a horror movie…I'd rather not recall it. All I have to acknowledge is that my first experience with movies wasn't pleasant.

I walked towards her sofa and sat down on it, placing the breakfast I brought for her and my school bag down, waiting patiently for her to be done. The living room was quite sparse. She never really bothered to decorate it. Everything precious to her was all stored in her room, and the only things placed outside were scenery pictures framed and hung on the walls, and a few additional pots of fake flowers.

After two minutes, I heard the shower being turned off, and seconds later; I heard a door click open. Her toilet was connected to the living room; hence she spotted me immediately when she came out. Her eyes widened a bit in mild surprise, but the expression soon disappeared, turning into one with happiness.

"Morning," she said as she walked towards me. Her hair was still damp, and she was already dressed for school, wearing a casual pink shirt and black skinny jeans that showed off the shape of her hips and legs. She smiled and hugged me when she reached me. "I didn't expect you to be here before I even showered finish." She said. I could smell her lavender shampoo that she usually used whenever she showered.

"Well, don't blame me for being so eager to see the girl I love." Jason said with a grin that he reserved only for Piper. He never showed positive emotions other than when he was with Piper. When Piper heard his answer, she chuckled and drew back.

"I feel so loved," She said with a grin. Her eyes then widened when she saw the breakfast I got for her. I could see her eyes look at it with longing, and smiled. "Is that for me?"

"Well, yea. I've already eaten. It's all for you," I said with amusement. "I got your favorite breakfast- turkey and ham croissants meal."

Suddenly, a soft growl emitted from her stomach, and I laughed as she blushed slightly and scowled at me.

"Don't laugh! I'm just hungry, okay?" She said and pouted a little. I waved at her after my laughter subsided, signaling that she could start eating anytime she wanted.

Almost immediately, she picked up the packet and sat down beside me, digging in and taking out the turkey and ham croissant. She beamed at it cheerfully, like a seven-year old just getting a new toy, and quickly unwrapped it. She sighed dramatically after she took the first bite.

"Aren't you reacting way too much just because of a turkey and ham croissant?" I asked.

"Nu-uh. I'm really, really hungry. I feel like I could eat an ass- I mean a donkey. If you get what I mean." I had to listen carefully to pick out what she was saying, as her words were unclear due to the large amount of food stuffed into her enormously big mouth.

"Yea…usually, people say they could eat a 'horse', not an 'ass'." I corrected her with a playful grin. She scowled and slapped me on the shoulder slightly.

"Don't act as though your English is very strong. I just like to say things my way."

"Fine, fine, whatever you say," I lifted my hands in front of me. "Just trying to correct your excellent English."

"Hmph…"

"Just hurry up and eat your food. We have to go in five minutes if we don't want to be late for school."

"Damn school…" she groaned. I smiled at her childishness. Some people really grow up slowly.

The next few minutes were spent in comfortable silence. The only sound that could be heard was Piper happily munching away her food.

"I'm done," She said as she stuffed all the wrappers into a plastic bag. "Let's get going." She said before standing up and walking towards her room to take her school bag. I, on the other hand, picked up my bag and went straight to the door.

By the time she was out, I had already worn my school shoes and was slightly impatiently waiting for her. She rolled her eyes at me when I gave her a hurry-up-and-lets-go look.

"Alright, alright. Sheesh, you gotta learn to give a girl some time." Piper grumbled as she stepped out of the house. I rolled my eyes right back at her.

"Some girls gotta learn to get ready faster." I shot back as she locked the door. She turned around and glared at me, though I could see the slight playfulness in her eyes, and knew that her glare was not even real.

"Whatever." She simply said. I grinned at my triumph. To many others, they would continue the conversation because they wanted to prove that they had worn the argument, but I know Piper. She would say 'whatever' whenever she lost an argument or a debate.

"Jason." Piper suddenly called out my name as we walked side by side to school. The city was just coming to life. More and more cars were passing by every minute, and more and more people were filling the streets.

"Yea?" I replied with an arched eyebrow in question.

"Do you think Annabeth is hiding something from us?" Piper asked with a slight frown. The question caught me by surprise.

"What makes you think she's hiding something from us?" I asked in curiosity. In reality, I, too, felt that she was keeping a lot of things from us.

That makes two people. Her and Percy, whom we know nothing much about at all.

"For example, Ivan. She acted like she really wanted to keep it a secret. Also, where does she go everyday after school? I don't even see her anywhere. It's like she's always in a rush for something. Also, she seems to be a stranger to any form of kindness at all. We can all see that by the way she acts whenever someone does something kind to her. I understand her previous school was like shit, but wouldn't her parents treat her kindly? If so, why is she such a stranger to it?" Piper stated, adding point by point. I couldn't help but agree- I actually had the exact same thoughts as her.

"Perhaps her parents treat her unkindly..." I said with an unsure tone. It was only an assumption, but it may be true.

"Perhaps…" Piper trailed off and stared off into space, deep in thought. We walked like this for the next couple of minutes- her staring into space, me glancing at her every five seconds to see whether she was done. Suddenly, she sighed loudly, causing me to jump a little in surprise at her sudden action.

"Well, if she doesn't want to tell us, we shouldn't try to find out. We don't have the right to invade her privacy…well, nobody does." Piper said with a resigned tone. That was one thing I liked about her- She doesn't pry into others' business a lot, unless it's really bad. So far, Annabeth's situation only consisted of an old bully, and other mysterious things, but she seemed fine. With Percy there, it assured me even more that she was doing fine.

"Yea, so lets drop the topic and start talking about homework." I said with a teasing tone. She closed her eyes, tilted her heads towards the sky and groaned loudly.

"Oh, please, don't remind me…"

We continued discussing about our homework all the way to school. She never bothered to do her homework. I would never be able to guess what she does at home. She doesn't like television much, and the Internet is of no interest to her unless it has something to do about popular fashion trends. Even then, she is only a little interested in it.

"Do you think there's something going on between Annabeth and Percy?" Piper asked as we walked though the school gates.

"I don't really know," I replied, shrugging. "Though there's a high chance that they do have something between them. Percy care for Annabeth so much, and Annabeth seems to be comfortable only when she is around Percy."

"Wrong." Thalia's voice suddenly said behind us. Piper and I both jumped in surprise and turned quickly to see a smirking Thalia and a smiling Nico.

"Thalia!" Piper exclaimed as she took a deep breath. "Please don't do that. It scared the hell outta both of us."

Thalia merely shrugged off-handedly. "Whatever." She said. Nico waved at us from behind her, still smiling. We couldn't figure out why he was smiling- was it because of what Thalia did, or because he was just being friendly. Nevertheless, we waved and smiled back at him.

"Anyway," Thalia continued. "You're wrong about Percy and Annabeth. I know you guys probably think Percy likes Annabeth, the way he's treating her now. But, the truth is, he only acts that way because he thinks of her as a younger sister. And it's probably the same for Annabeth. She probably thinks of him as an older brother." Piper and I stared at her in shock.

"When have you ever become so perceptive?" I asked incredulously. She scowled and punched me lightly on the shoulder.

"Shut up," She said, though I could see a twinkle of playfulness in her eyes. "The reason why I know this is because…" Suddenly, her shoulders drooped slightly, and she trailed off. She couldn't seem to finish the sentence, looking down at the floor. Nico went up to her wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her against him. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Even I could not do that to her, and I was her brother! Though, I probably can't blame anyone but my dad and mom. Why did they ever separate in the first place? It caused Thalia so much misery…

"Sorry," He said. "She still has trouble recounting about the past. What she's trying to say is that the way Percy is treating Annabeth now is almost like how he treated her when she was still an outcast and a loner." The words came out cold and hard. Thalia shivered slightly, her face hidden by her hair as she was still looking down. Nico tightened his embrace around her.

"Well, she's no longer one now thanks to Percy." Nico said with a wry smile. I guess recounting about your girlfriend's painful past would affect your mood in some way.

Just then, the school bell rang. Nico's head shot up as he realized her was late. "C'mon," He said to Thalia as he gave her one last squeeze. " We gotta get going to class." He finished. Slowly, Thalia nodded.

"We're going off now. See you at lunch!" Nico waved as he more or less dragged Thalia-in a totally comfortable manner- to their class. Piper and I walked swiftly towards our own class. We were late too.

"Well, at least we now know that there isn't anything going on…yet." Piper added the last word. She loved romance, and probably wanted the two to get together.

"Yea." I replied shortly, not knowing what else to say. Sometimes, girls talked a little complicatedly. Also, many boys do not dare to speak their ideas and opinions, afraid that the girl wouldn't like it.

"Ah…hey, I'm a little jealous that Thalia could be held by Nico. Sigh, it's so sad that I don't have a boyfriend to hold me like that…" She sighed loudly, as she pretended to look downcast. I rolled my eyes in slight annoyance, knowing that she wanted me to do the exact same thing, which I did.

"Happy now?" I asked as I pulled her towards me with an arm and hugged her tightly to my side with an arm over he shoulders. She struggled for a while, complaining about being in public, but I knew she was enjoying herself.

"Hmph. Lets go." She pouted as she walked quickly, forcing me to move with her to keep my arm around her in place.

Class was boring as usual. The english teacher talked about some random rape case, and explained it using three essays which, frankly, is useless in English.

The classes passed one after another, some feeling longer than others due to their boredom in certain classes. Finally, the school bell rang, signifying that it was lunch time. I lethargically packed my stuff, not bothering about it being neat at all, before going to the canteen. Piper and I were the first to reach our usual spot. It wasn't unusual- the older guys tended to stay back a little more.

Slowly, the members of the group trickled to the table. Katie and Travis were quarreling like an old love couple as usual. Silena and Beckendorf was doing some PDA things that I wouldn't describe, Clarice and Chris were sharing a vanilla milkshake…

Yup, everything was still normal.

That was, until Percy and Annabeth came. They seemed to be the harbinger of troubles and problems. We immediately quieted down when we saw Annabeth's pale and fearful face. The only thing that refrained us from jumping up and asking her what was wrong was that Percy was there with her, and he didn't seem to be extremely worried, so they presumed that Annabeth was alright.

Still, though, there must be a reason why Annabeth was so scared. You can't be scared for nothing. Not even timid Annabeth could beat that. Percy looked seriously at all of us, who were sitting around. Piper grabbed my hand when she saw Percy's face. She told me once before- she's a bit afraid of Percy's serious face. I just told her that if she was scared of such a small thing, she would get a heart attack when she sees Percy being angry…not that we ever saw him lost control of his temper before. My answer was partially answered when Percy spoke.

"Guys, Annabeth and I need to tell you something. Something important."


	34. Family

**Hello guys :) I have nothing much to say except thanks for the awesome reviews! :D and also, this chapter and the previous one was supposed to be one, but i was so tired that i couldn't write it all at one go, so i just split it into two XD I am quite busy nowadays, so forgive me for updating iregularly. I'm also trying to add more vocab words and maybe change my grammer here and there, so bear with me. **

**PLS R&R!  
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Annabeth's POV

My heart beat more and more rapidly at each step we took towards the group. By now, all of them were already staring at us. They probably noticed me shivering and being pale looking and all, if not they wouldn't be looking like that.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we stopped in front of the group. They were all observing me now with worried eyes. Their gazes only served to make me even _more _uncomfortable…it still felt strange to have so many people be worried about me…

"Guys, Annabeth and I need to tell you something. Something important." Percy said. Immediately, I felt everyone's gazes shift from me to Percy, and breathed an extremely soft sigh of relief so that no one would hear.

That was, of course, until I realized that I was the one to tell them about the whole working in the restaurant later on…my panic and stress returned in a flash. What would they say? How would they react? Would they look down on me? Be disgusted at such a poor girl like me being in their presence? I, for one, knew that each and everyone of them, or almost everyone, was rich because of the family they were in.

"We can't do it here… can we go to the gardens? It's quite private there…" Percy said while scratching the back of his neck. The others nodded. We then proceeded to the gardens.

The atmosphere was tense and silent. So silent that a small droplet of water would be heard. Everyone looked eager, but also a little afraid to hear what we were going to reveal as they sat on the benches in the garden. I momentarily wondered why they would be afraid of what we were about to say, but dismissed the train of thoughts. I had more important things to think about right then.

I heard Percy take a deep breath, and frowned in puzzlement. Didn't he say that I would be the one to reveal my own secret? I looked at him, opening my mouth to as him exactly what he was planning, but stopped once I saw a twinkle of mischievousness in his eyes. Oh, he's definitely up to something…I have a bad feeling…I prepared myself for whatever he was going to say.

"Annabeth's pregnant." Percy said with a poker face. The group's reaction was…rather simple. As one, all of their jaws dropped in shock, dumbfounded. As for me, my face deadpanned, and I raised a hand and hit the back of his head.

"Ouch! What was that for, wise girl?" Percy exclaimed and glared at me, though I could see the faint smile on his face.

"You crazy seaweed brain. I am _not_ pregnant!" I hissed angrily at him, forgetting about the audience for a moment, glaring daggers at Percy. Percy tried to hold his glare, but failed miserably. The reason being he couldn't contain his laughter anymore. Seeing him laugh so energetically made me smile.

"Wait," Thalia's rather unsure and worried voice broke us out of our small little world. "So you're not really pregnant?" She asked, eyeing me critically. I shook my head vigorously.

"Don't listen to him…he's currently mentally retarded." I said, some of my anger still getting to me.

"Hey! I'm just enjoying myself!" I rolled my eyes.

"Saying I'm pregnant is way out of line, Seaweed Brain!"

"Just having some fun!"

I opened my mouth to make a smart retort when a cough brought our attention away from each other.

"Um," Juniper said. "Can we go to the part where you have something to tell us?" I suddenly realized that there was an audience. In my shock and anger, I had totally forgotten about them. Immediately, I looked down, back to my shy, timid self again. I couldn't help it. My earlier doubts started to pervade my mind and my worry and fear came back in full force.

I felt someone nudge my arm, and turned to see Percy's swirling eyes looking into mine. I could see the encouragement in his eyes, and he nodded slightly with a smile.

"I assure you, they won't react whatever negative way you think they would." He whispered in a soft, gentle and encouraging tone. His words calmed me down a little, and my rapid breaths went down a notch.

I closed my eyes and turned back to the group, taking in one deep breath before I told them. Of course, there was a part that I didn't tell them, and that was the reason of why I was working. I haven't even told Percy why yet...

I mentally frowned when I got that thought. When have I ever decided that before I tell anyone else, I should tell Percy first? Have I become so dependant on him? Did I already trust him so much?

The answer came to me almost immediately. Yes, I have become quite dependent on him, but not very, very much. The one that is really correct is that I already trust him that much. He's the first person I would turn to whenever I have a major problem. That much was unquestionable. To me, he is the most trustworthy, encouraging, kind person I have ever met.

"The restaurant that you guys have decided to go to this Thursday…that's where I work." I said. The atmosphere turned tense again, and it was deathly quiet. Their faces immediately turned into one with shock. They were stunned. I shifted nervously at their response, but continued anyway when I saw Percy's supportive smile.

"You know I always leave school early all this time? It's because I have to report for work. I only have two days leave a week, which I use usually on Sundays and Thursdays since that's when I get to spend time with you guys," The others smiled at me when I revealed that. They seemed happy that I considered them as friends…how can I not? I was a little relieved when I saw their please expressions…maybe Percy was right, maybe they really don't care whether I'm working or not…

"What Ivan said about me always being late in the past…they were true…but that's because I had to work till after midnight in my previous outlet. Sometimes, I would not be able to wake up on time, resulting in me reaching school late…" I immediately looked down when I finished, too scared to see what their faces would be expressing. Disgust? Contempt? Embarrassment?

"So…yes, that's what I wanted to tell you guys. I hope you guys are…are not…" I muttered, and trailed off, not knowing what else to say. I felt an arm wrap around me, and looked up to see Percy smiling approvingly at me, his eyes bright and warm.

I suddenly remembered something he had constantly reminded me. No matter what happens, he would be there whenever I would need him. Unlike the other one who had ever said that to me, he has actually been proving it so far…and that made me trust him all the more. My heart felt lighter at the knowledge that he would still be there with me even if the group leaves me.

"Percy tilted his head in the direction of the group, where I have been averting my eyes from all that time, before pulling back his arm. I started to turn my head to face the music when I felt someone wrap her arms around me. It was Thalia. She was only second to Percy in my list of 'most trusted friends'.

"Oh, Annabeth…" I could hear sadness in her voice, but also warmth and comfort. She was hugging me, comforting me. I felt tears spring up my eyes. She wasn't embarrassed, she wasn't disgusted…she was sad for me, she was trying to comfort _me_.

The others started to chime in, adding their own words of comfort. Clarice hardly said anything except for a "Whatever." It wasn't much, but I could tell that that was her way of saying "it doesn't matter at all."

I shook with emotions, and I looked at all of their faces. Almost all were worried, caring and kind. None of them looked at me with contempt or anything that has to do with negative emotions…I was grateful.

"I told you they won't think much of it," Percy said to me with a smirk. The others nodded in agreement. "They're not like all the rich assholes in other schools- they're kind and caring people. We all support each other. You have nothing to worry about. You're part of us now." By now, they were all smiling at me. Seeing their smiles, all welcoming, friendly, kind, warm…

Finally, the tears flowed. This time, tears of joy. As Thalia held me as I cried, as the group smiled and patted my head and said comforting words, I felt that I finally had a family. People I can trust, people who care for me. I looked at Percy, and saw his full-blown grin as he looked at me. He gave a thumbs-up, mouthing "_told you so._" I couldn't help but roll my eyes, and I grinned back.


	35. Tell, or not to tell?

**Hola people. I hope you'd like this update. I've wrote a dead giveaway about Percy's past, if you can catch it :) anyway, thx for all the reviews XD I hope that when i finish this story, I'd have 250 favs? Juz trying my luck XD there's still a fair bit to go.**

**PLS R&R THX AGAIN FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!  
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Nico's POV

"Hey there." I greeted Thalia with a large smile. Even though I see her almost everyday, and for more than six hours per day, I can never get enough of the sight of her. She was still wearing her pajamas, which were blue and white-striped. She looked cute in it. It only served to make her cuter when she yawned. I guess she just woke up. Maybe I was a bit too enthusiastic today…I'm ten minutes early.

"Nico?" She asked, bewildered. She then rubbed her eyes, trying to get some sleep off them, and stared again. "You're so early!" She exclaimed when she finally believed I was here. I grinned in response.

"I was a bit too excited to see you," I said sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck. "And you look cute in pajamas." I stated, blushing a little. I could see her face turning red too, and my grin widened a little.

"Whatever…" She muttered. "Come in, then. I have to get ready. Percy's already at Annabeth's house, and Jason just left…you didn't see him?" She questioned. I shook my head.

"Piper's house is in the other direction." I replied, taking off my shoes before stepping into the house. She shrugged in response.

"Well, maybe you would have seen him leaving the house or something. Anyway, wait at the sofa. I'm gonna wash up first." I nodded and watched her as she walked towards her room and locked the door.

I sat down on the sofa and observed the living room. Well, nothing changed so far. The picture frames consisting of pictures of the four of us- Me, Thalia, Grover and Percy- were still hung across the walls. I frowned.

It was weird. I understand why Jason and Thalia had no photos of their families. They came from a broken family, but I have never seen Percy's parents before. For someone who's doted on so much by his parents, surely he must love them a lot. If he does love them, he would have at least put one picture of them on the walls, but over the years, I have never spotted a photo with his family inside.

It wasn't my first time wondering about Percy. Not many people noticed, but no one actually knew about Percy's past. Even the four of us, who were the closest to him, knew close to nothing about him. All we knew- from what he told us- is that his parents are living somewhere in some other place, sending him here for his studies. We know nothing else about his parents.

I first met him when I was twelve. At that time, I had just entered the school. He was the first friend I met. He and Grover already knew each other too. The strange thing was, Percy seemed to know the place extremely well. The school is big, _really _big. I know that students can enter from the age of ten, but for his parents to send him, alone, here to study at the age of ten is a bit far-fetched. That is one of the many reasons why I don't believe him when he says his parents sent him here. For all I know, he may actually have the worst family problem out of all of us.

My thoughts were cut short when I heard Thalia's door click open. I turned my head to see the usual stunningly beautiful teenage girl. In my eyes, of course. She was wearing a white shirt with a black skull printed on it and her usual skinny blue jeans. Her clothes always showed her figure. And she sure had a figure. Her body was, of course, in shape due to the constant knife practice we have…

She beamed at me. "I have breakfast in the kitchen. Wanna sit with me?" She asked. I nodded, smiling at her. We then walked into the kitchen. I was surprised to see a meal already prepared. I thought she would have to prepare her own breakfast. When she saw my surprised look, she chuckled.

"Oh yea, I forgot that you only started coming here recently. Since Percy goes over to Annabeth's nowadays, he usually makes breakfast for us first before going over." She explained.

"Oh…wow…he's like a mother like that." She chuckled again at my tease on him.

"More like an extremely big brother to me…" She said as she sat down. The breakfast on the table consisted of two half-boiled eggs, four kaya toast and a cup of warm milo that she poured out from some heat-conserving canister or something. I sat down opposite her.

"So, did you eat your breakfast before coming here?" She asked as she took a bite from her toast. I nodded, listening to the crunches emitted from her bites on the toast.

"Mom always wakes up early to prepare. Usually, the breakfast would already be prepared at six in the morning." I said. She nodded, but I could see the slight droop of her shoulders. I immediately regretted mentioning my mom. How could I be so stupid?

"Um, sorry. I didn't mean to…" I trailed off. She looked at me and gave me a half-hearted smile.

"It's fine. I understand." I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I really shouldn't have mentioned…

"Really," She said, and I could tell she was fine already by the rolling of her eyes. "I'm fine now. After all, you yourself said that Percy's like a mother. She gave a twisted smile. I laughed in agreement.

I looked at the time. It was still early, since I came so early. We sat in comfortable silence for the next few minutes, with only the sounds of her crunching and occasional slurps when she drinks her milo filling the room.

"Nico," She suddenly said. I looked at her quizzically. "Does your father know about us?" My eyes widened in shock. Where did that come from?

After a few seconds, I sighed in resignation and shook my head. "If I ever told him," I said dejectedly. "He would immediately disapprove. I'm afraid." I whispered at the end and shifted my eyes down onto the table. I could feel her eyes staring at me.

"We should tell him before he finds out himself. If we let him find out himself, things would be worse." She said. My head snapped back up, and I gaped at her.

"What? No way! If we ever tell him, he would immediately ban me from seeing you ever again!" I said loudly, almost shouting. She sighed and rested her head on her arms on the table. Seeing her hunched back, I realized that I wasn't the only stressed person here. She was stressed too. She was just stating the best course of action. It didn't necessarily mean that she liked it. I forced myself to calm down, to think straight.

"Thalia, are you sure you want to risk it?" I asked after a minute of tense silence. She lifted her head, and I could see her eyes tearing.

"I don't want to risk it, Nico, but…" She trailed off in her shaky voice. She was breaking down. Oh, fuck it.

"I…if we do that…I know it's better to tell him before he finds out…I mean, your mother and sister already knows…but even if they tried, they probably would not be able to change your father's mind…but if we don't tell him, he may be so angry that he won't let us see each other again…but if we do…" She ranted. I could see her struggling. She was confused, frightened at the very thought of not being able to see me again.

"Thalia," I whispered and walked to her side, sitting down beside and snaking an arm around her shoulders, hugging her against my body. She was sobbing now, and leaned onto me, trying her hardest to stop. I could feel her body shaking, and I hugged her tighter towards me as I myself tried not to cry. "It'll be okay…even if he doesn't approve…I'll find a way." It was ironic how I, from the one who was worried and frightened, became the one to comfort.

People may think we were getting too emotional, as we were so scared and were crying just because we were scared to tell my dad, but they don't know how powerful my dad is. I preferred to keep it a secret anyway. So far, only Thalia knows who my dad really is. He is Hades Di'Angelo, owner of one of the three largest companies in the world. The company is well-known for it's horror movies. That is not their main source, though. Even though they have horror movies as an income, their main income is from mining jewelry and riches from in the Earth. They also own a few oil plants. The company is known as "Hades' business industries." I know it sounds plain, but we have three sources of income, and that's kind of hard to mix into a name.

Thalia also knew that Jason would get their father's company, who was, and is, also one of the largest companies in the world. In fact, my dad's company is actually third largest, whereas Jason's is the largest. But, the differences were so minor that no one really bothered to compare the companies. They only named the three biggest companies as "The Big Three". The second company's owner had died though, and the heir is currently missing somewhere in the world. It was said that he was the sole heir, but no one had found him yet since he ran away from his foster home. No one knows where he is right now, nor do they know why he ever ran away from his foster home.

According to some contract, if the heir doesn't appear in the next ten years from now, it would be passed over to the foster family that housed him. I certainly don't want that to happen, but it's not my choice anyhow.

After a few minutes, Thalia sat back up. She was sniffing away, but she wasn't sobbing anymore. I looked at the time. We're gonna be late if we don't leave soon.

I looked back down at Thalia and lifted her face, my hands lifting it by her cheeks, staring into her troubled wet eyes. I smiled comfortingly and used my thumbs to wipe away any sign of tears.

"Don't worry. We'll find a way," A sudden thought came to me, and I smiled a little wider. "Who knows? Maybe even mother Percy would come in to help." I said. Her lips twitched up, and I was pleased that it worked. At least a little.

"Y-yea…I guess. When will we tell?" Thalia asked. I looked up at the ceiling, pondering it for a moment, before looking back down at her.

"Maybe tomorrow? Or Saturday. Anyhow, we'll tell him by this week." I said. She nodded, and got up, picking up the plates and cups. I grabbed her arm.

"Let me do it," I said when she looked at me quizzically. "Go and pack your bag. Wash your face too." She nodded, and left the kitchen after placing the cutlery into the basin.

When we were just leaving the house, we saw Percy and Annabeth leaving Annabeth's house too. When Percy saw us, he waved. We waved back and waited for them to reach us as they approached us.

As usual, without saying hello, he greeted with a wave before looking at Thalia. His eyes widened a little. He could tell Thalia had been crying.

"Something happened?" He asked a little worriedly. Both she and I shook our heads.

"Something we have to do alone. Don't worry. If we need your help, we'll ask." I assured him as he opened his mouth to tell me what I had just said. He closed his mouth and grinned at me. I grinned back.

"Annabeth, how are you this morning?" Thalia suddenly asked Annabeth, who seemed to be surprised, as though she wasn't expecting to be spoken to.

"Well, as usual, with Percy…" It went like that the rest of the way to school- us talking about anything and everything.

One thing I knew for sure is that we would certainly _not _be having a good time with my dad this week.


	36. Sparring-Thalia

**Hi there, People :) I'm really thankful for all the reviews i've been getting. I wanna let you al know i really appreciate it. :D**

**This chapter is mainly about the weapon art class. I've mentioned it, but never showed it before, so here it is! I'm not really good at fight scenes. I hope you can get what i'm writing and are able to visualize the fight scenes i described.  
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**Also, lately, i'm really busy, and am having trouble to cope with studies, church and cca at the same time. I may suffer from a mental breakdown soon if i can't control my time...anyway, please, if i don;t update fast, don't hurry me. I really have to adjust to my current life...  
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**Emmanualjackson(I think that's your pen name. Sorry, really tired.), i already pmed you about your views and criticism on the annabeth and thalia, but in case you haven't read it, Thalia is only weak around those who she trusts, mainly Nico and Percy. She's still strong on the outside with others. Annabeth is still growing, but she will have a stronger personality after an upcoming time skip.  
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**Anyway, PLs R&R! THanks for the reviews!  
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Percy's POV

"Huff, huff…" Annabeth panted, holding her dagger ready in front of her as she faced her opponent, a fellow pupil named Richard. Richard himself was panting, holding his sword and shield ready. They had been sparring for the past ten minutes. I smiled as I saw Annabeth block a swipe from Richard with her dagger and retaliating by attempting to kick his stomach. Richard saw it coming, though, and broke distance before the kick could reach him.

I was sitting at the topmost bench, observing the match. Both of them were average. The only difference was that Richard had two months more experience than Annabeth. Yet, Annabeth is holding her ground well.

Annabeth stood in ready stance, carefully observing Richard with her gray, intelligent eyes, looking for his weak spots and planning her attacks. It's a wonder how she could be so timid with others when she can be so damn calm when fighting with weapons that could kill.

Annabeth only joined the club a few weeks ago, but she was already on the same level as an average person who has one year of experience. She had rapidly grown over the past few weeks. It was amazing to see her train and improve so much. It was also a little understandable as Thalia herself trained Annabeth.

I could see Annabeth tensing her leg muscles. She suddenly sprang forward, stabbing her dagger at Richard, who brought his shield up to block it. It momentarily blocked his sight, though, and he didn't see that Annabeth had immediately begun to move after her stab, dropping down to the ground and swinging her leg across his feet, making him lose his footing and fall on his back to the ground, sword and shield dropped due to his surprise. Annabeth then quickly placed a knee on his chest and held the knife at his throat.

Annabeth had won.

The other members who were watching applauded for her at her calculative moves. It wasn't very hard to predict, but at their level, it was already quite good.

Annabeth got up and held out her hand towards Richard, who smiled at her and took her hand. She pulled him up and they shook hands.

"You're really a natural. You would make a great fighter in the future," Richard complimented her. She blushed a little and nodded her head.

"Thank you. You're not too bad yourself." She complimented back. As I said, it's a surprise how confident she could become during training. It's like she becomes a whole different person when she spars. Richard thanked her for the compliment.

"Next, I would like to see Thalia spar with Brendon." Mr Brunner announced. The room suddenly grew quiet as Thalia got up from her seat at the benches by the sides and walked onto the sparring area. Her footsteps echoed throughout the hall.

It was a surprise that Mr Brunner actually got her to go and spar. Having masters to spar was a very rare occurrence. And when they _did _spar, no one was ever allowed to watch them. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what exactly was Mr Brunner trying to do.

I forgot to mention that our club has our own hall. We have benches at the sides for audience, and since we mostly had no rules other than to win, there weren't really any boundaries. The only out of bounds places were the audience benches and outside the hall.

I could see Brendon shaking slightly as he walked slowly into the area, his hand gripping his spear tightly, so tightly that I could see his knuckles going white. The atmosphere had turned into one with anticipation. I smirked, and felt a little pity for Brendon. Brendon was one of the top five spear uses in the club, but to fight Thalia, you have to be at least a master. _At least._ Even the master for spear-users usually lost to her. Not that they knew that, of course. As I said, we sparred privately. The reasons being that our techniques are extremely skillful and dangerous, and if the not-so-skilled people watched it and wanted to try it, they may end up severely injuring themselves.

Thalia drew her two curved, sharp hunting knifes, the points pointing towards her, and stood there with a small smile. I could tell she was quite happy to show off her skills here.

"Psst, Percy," I heard someone whisper. I turned to see Annabeth looking at me. When the hell had she arrived beside me? I guess I was thinking too much about the match I hadn't noticed her walking up here. "Thalia has been training me, but I've never seen her spar before. Is she very good?" I almost burst out laughing at that question. Was she very good? No, she wasn't very good, she was extremely, tremendously good.

"Watch." I simply said, pointing at the sparring area. She merely pouted but turned towards the two. I could see the eagerness in her eyes, as well as everyone else's. I smiled slightly as I imagined the reactions they would have later on. It would be entertaining, that's for sure.

"Ready," Mr Brunner called. Brendon took a deep breath, steeling his nerves. His body's shaking lessened considerably. I was a little impressed by that- it's difficult to calm your nerves when you are facing someone so much stronger, practically a legend. Thalia had won the best knifer in the whole world in the last Weaponry World Championships.

"Go." He announced. Immediately, Brendon sprang forward, thrusting his spear at Thalia. Thalia merely side-stepped and rushed forward swiftly, slashing at him so fast that most of the people there only noticed she had slashed when Brendon blocked it with the Pole of the spear to block the knife before pushing her knife back and retaliating by bring down his spear on her, which she dodged.

They went like this for a few minutes, attacking, dodging and blocking. I could tell Thalia was just playing, though. Still, Brendon was already quite good to have survived this long even with her "just playing".

But not good enough.

I sighed as I saw Thalia shift her stance. She shifted so slightly, I bet only the masters of the other weapons noticed it.

Some who notice it may think that it probably is of no importance. Well, they're greatly mistaken. Her going into that stance, even with the slightest shift, meant that she was deciding to end it.

Once again, Brendon thrust his spear point at her. Like the previous times he did that, Thalia dodged to the right. This time, though, she didn't just wait for him to recover or swipe at him.

She used her left hand to force the pole of the spear to the right, causing Brendon to lose some control of his spear. While he was distracted, she quickly took a step forward, knife still connected with the pole of the spear and traveling extremely close to Brendon's hand, before raising her left hand and elbowing his right in the face. Brendon, not expecting that kind of move, didn't try to dodge her elbow at all, and was hit with the full force. Blood trickled down from his nose as he staggered back, trying to recover. Thalia was relentless, though, and did a roundhouse kick at him from the left. He managed to partially block the kick from his face.

Nevertheless, the force in the kick sent him flying. His hands lost their grip on the spear as he flew, rendering him weaponless.

"Halt." Mr Brunner's calm voice rang across the silent hall. No one talked. The sudden display of speed, strength and tactic had stunned them. Thalia was grinning happily away as she sheathed her knifes and went over to help Brendon up.

"You're quite good. Don't beat yourself up over this loss," She said in a comforting tone when she saw that Brendon had a downcast look on his face. "If it makes you feel any better, not even the master of your weapon can beat me. Very few people can actually give me a challenge. In this school, only three can actually beat me." Brendon looked at her in disbelief, but smiled in the end. They shook hands before going back to their seats.

"Gods, Thalia, you totally owned one of the top five spear users in our school, and probably one of the top fifty in the world! You're amazing!" Annabeth exclaimed in amazement as Thalia came and sat beside her. Thalia smiled gratefully at her praise.

"Well, considering that I'm the top knife-user in the World, I have to live up to my name." Thalia said with a slightly flustered smile. I know why. Even with such an amazing display, many of the others were staring at her secretly in jealousy, envy and admiration. But, there was fear. Not everybody had forgotten what she once was. At that time, three years ago, she had beat up one of the baton users badly, and anything that happens with a member of the weapon art class would be notified to them. They had feared her ever since, as the baton member had been third best in school at that time. He had already graduated though. You can probably guess his age when he was beaten up by a twelve-year old girl.

Annabeth, not knowing previously that Thalia was top in the world for knife-users, merely stared in open admiration and shock, causing Thalia to smile sheepishly and shift awkwardly in her seat. I chuckled at her. Despite her usual cool demeanor, she really didn't know how to handle open admiration and sometimes, even normal praises.

"Hey, I saw your match," Nico's voice said from my right, causing Thalia and Annabeth to jump in surprise. I smiled and shook my head. Look's like Nico is still living up to his reputation, appearing out of nowhere. I had already sensed him, but I guess Thalia was too busy feeling embarrassed that she didn't notice him walking to where we were. " It was mean of you to bully him like that." Thalia scoffed at that.

"Whatever. Hey, lets spar later after lunch at Percy's, okay? Is that fine with you, Percy?" Thalia asked the both of us. We nodded in agreement.

"You have a sparring room? I wonder why I never spotted it…" Annabeth said as she looked at me questioningly. I smiled and rubbed the back of my neck.

"The room is only accessible through Thalia's, the guest room and mine. Since you've never really explored in any of the, you probably don't know. The reason why we did that arrangement is…well, you'll know later." I said. She frowned, not really happy about my answer, but accepting it nonetheless.

"Next, Percy and Veigar, please get onto the sparring area." Mr Brunner. I looked up in surprise. What's so special today, to make two masters go up? Usually, we just stood at the side and watched, picking out mistakes from the lower levels of our weapons and teaching them. We had never gone up to spar in front of our students. Heck, even if we did, the only time we would actually spar seriously is when we are sparring with each other. I highly doubt that Mr Brunner would set that, though. If the others saw how good we are, they may actually feel so small they would want to quit. That's certainly not what Mr Brunner was trying to achieve.

I frowned as I unsheathed Riptide from it's sheath (**I'm making it have a sheath, since this is a non-gods story and usually in normal things like this, swords don't appear once we uncap pens.**) and slowly walked down to the area. I knew Veigar was second best in staff-users. One assumption I have is this- Mr Brunner had probably seen that the other club members are slacking off as they think they are too good, having never sparred with the masters before. Therefore, he wanted us to showcase a little of our strengths to humble them.

I sighed almost inaudibly when I heard Thalia and Nico simultaneously saying "Veigar is soooo dead." And walked, Riptide in hand, into the sparring area.


	37. Sparring-Percy

**Hi guys. Thanks for all the reviews in my previous chapter. Nowadays, my chapters are getting shorter and shorter :( well, I'm getting busier and busier, so please forgive me.**

**Also, i really am not good in describing fight scenes *wince* so please don't expect too much...i'm just trying to add some inside...well, yea...  
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**Once again, thanks for all the reviews :) OH YEA! I just made a one-shot on Annabeth and Percy after Tartarus. I don't know whether it's good, but please read it and feedback to me about it so i can improve :) Just go to my writer's blog or account or whatever you call it. The story is called "i wish"  
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**PLs R&R!  
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Annabeth's Pov

I stared at the arena in anticipation. The hall had grown quiet. It was as though the hall was empty, and yet there were over fifty people sitting on the benches, and two in the arena.

I've known for quite a while now that Percy was a master, like Thalia, just that he was master in swordsmanship, but I've never seen him fight before. Now when I think about it, the masters never seemed to spar in the classes. It was always them teaching us new moves, correcting out mistakes, walking around observing and grading us…they never sparred before.

What is so secretive about them that they never sparred in front of the others? Is it because they are so good that many of the moves they use will get us injured if we ever try to copy them? Is it because they didn't want to make us feel hopeless and heavily out-classed whenever they sparred? Just a few minutes ago, I had seen one of the best displays of knife-wielding, and said person wasn't even serious when she fought. Just how good are they?

I could see Veigar shaking as he stood at ready in front of Percy. I was a little surprised. Veigar had always been an arrogant person, always criticizing people, bragging about his skills, putting others down…he rarely showed fear in front of anyone except Mr Brunner and the master of his weapon. Other than that, I had thought that he respected no one else.

The very scene that was playing in front of me totally proved me wrong. Not only was 'respecting' him, he was shaking in fear. His knuckles were turning white as he clenched his staff tightly. I could even see the staff quivering. When I looked at Percy, I was a little awed by him.

While Veigar was quivering in fear in front of him, looking like he was about to piss his pants, Percy was standing lazily. His body was slouching, his sword tip was resting on the ground, and his face wore a calm and emotionless expression.

"Ready." Mr Brunner called. The already tense atmosphere seemed to get even tenser. I could practically feel the heaviness of the air weighing down on me. It could have been my imagination, but it was suddenly getting a little harder to breathe. Percy's presence was so cool, and yet there was a hidden ferocity in it, a very intense savagery and fierceness that was exuding from his before.

Veigar slowly go into his ready stance, still looking as fearful as ever. I could already see sweat trickling down his face, even though they hadn't even started yet. Percy, on the other hand, didn't do anything except fix his stare at Veigar. His story green eyes were swirling with some kind of power and strength.

"I bet with you that this match would end in less than ten seconds." Thalia whispered to me. I forced myself to tear my eyes off the arena and looked at her curiously. Certainly that wasn't possible? Veigar is extremely good, in his own right…there's no way someone can beat him in just ten seconds! I've seen him spar before, and it was terrifying. He fought with force equal to a lion, and speed that equaled to a cheetah.

Then I remembered Thalia, and how she fought. She had already been moving as fast, or even faster than I had ever seen Veigar move. I didn't compare her strength, though, as knife-wielders rarely use strength for battle.

"I don't think I want to make the bet…" I replied unsurely. Thalia smirked and nodded.

"Wise choice. Percy isn't like me. He doesn't like to play around with his opponents first. Usually, he would try to end the match as fast as possible. That doesn't mean he isn't strong," She said seriously. "Never think he's weak. If he doesn't manage to finish you off at the start…lets just say you'd wish you let him." I looked at her skeptically. Was he really _that_ good? I've watched swordsmanship contests once or twice before during the very few times I watched television, and they never managed to finish in the first ten seconds.

When I observed Percy more, I noticed that he wasn't holding any shield. Also, he seemed to be perfectly comfortable with Riptide, as though the sword was made for him. When he took two practice swings after Mr Brunner told them to get ready, he wielded it with such ease that even I, a somewhat beginner, could tell that he was an expert swordsman.

"One," Veigar took a deep breath. "Two," Percy slightly lifted his sword, his body still extremely relaxed.

"Three." My eyes widened as Percy immediately darted forward and swung his blade at Veigar's right. Veigar scrambled back, managing to block Percy's first strike. Percy, not daunted by the block, spun and swung his blade at Veigar's right. He had spun so fast that Veigar almost didn't managed to block the sword.

_Five seconds… _

Veigar took three quick steps back, disengaging, before swinging his staff in a wide arc at Percy. And then, Percy did something totally unexpected. To me, at least.

I don't know how much leg power he actually had, but he actually jumped above the staff. Not only that, he had jumped _towards _Veigar too. He then kicked Veigar with both his legs, propelling him back and at the same time kicking Veigar back. He did a back somersault, and as soon as the tip of his foot touched the floor, he dashed forward and parrying Veigar's desperate swing at him on the right before smashing the hilt at Veigar's face, much like Thalia, just that Thalia had used her elbow.

"Wow, he's certainly on a roll today…" Thalia muttered. "Usually, he would stop once he does that. That would add up to ten seconds. He's not even stopping." I glanced at her, and then looked back at the arena worriedly.

As Veigar was staggering back, Percy used his free hand and grabbed hold of Veigar's staff. Veigar, who was still trying to recover from the hit on the face, did not let go of the staff, resulting in him being pulled towards Percy.

It seemed like Percy was about to do something when Mr Brunner's frantic voice suddenly rang across the hall. "Stop!" Once Percy heard Mr Brunner's voice, he seemed to break out of some trance and let go of Veigar's staff before catching Veigar before he fully collided into him.

"Percy," Chiron's now angry voice echoed throughout the whole hall. "This is normal class, not master's. I do not want you to make him vomit blood all over the floor."

"Sorry…" Percy muttered quietly, though it could be heard all over the place since the hall was dead silent. Everyone was staring at them, shell-shocked.

When Percy returned to his seat beside Thalia and I, we looked at him worriedly. He saw us staring, and smiled uncomfortably and scratched the back of his neck.

"I got carried away a little," He said, his voice tinted with a little regret. "Sorry for everything, guys, especially you, Veigar!" He called out, looking over to Veigar. A few benches away, a shaken Veigar nursing an injured nose gave a tentative nod. Mutters of "It's all right" and "That's you, anyway" resounded from everywhere. I smiled at the forgiving attitude everyone was giving him.

I then frowned in contemplation. How could Percy be this good, and yet not even inside the country's swordsmanship national team? He might even be better than _that _guy…

What's more, Thalia had once told me that Percy already knew how to use the sword long before he joined the Weapon art class. Why? How?

Nevertheless, I could not help but envy Percy. His skill was so great, and his speed and strength was so fast. The very fact that he almost didn't manage to stop told me that he was doing the moves somewhat subconsciously, that the moves were so natural he almost didn't need to think whenever he used it.

My thoughts were cut short when the bell rang, signifying the end of class. We all stood up and greeted Mr Brunner goodbye before leaving. It was our last class, hence we decided to go straight to the shopping mall and then bathe and change since the others would take some time get ready and go there. Percy and Nico had started talking about football, whereas Thalia and I just rolled our eyes at them. We girls never understood why boys love football and soccer and all types of ball games so much.

Even though the others had assured me that me working at the restaurant did not matter at all to them, I was still a little worried. Thalia, somehow sensing my worry, smiled at me.

"It's gonna be fine. We really don't care, and so does most people. We're not lie the people in your past who scorned you because of your job." When she said this, my heart skipped a beat and panic seized me for a seconds. How did she know?

When she smiled at me one last time and turned around to talk to the boys, I realized that she had been talking in general. She didn't know about my past yet, and if I can help it, she would never know about it.


	38. Percy's past

**Guys, i have bad news. Due to the overwhelming stress of school, i have decided to drop this story completely. Sorry for the loss, goodbye.**

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**Just joking. Lol, okay I know that's kind of a cruel joke, but I really have nothing better to do. Rest assured that i have no intentions at all of discontinuing this story. I will write this till the end.**

**Thanks for all the reviews :) I hope you guys like this chapter. It's more about Percy's past, and his identity is revealed, though we hardly know much about him yet(I think). I really do hope you guys like this one, XD**

**Still, i'm pretty busy nowadays, with competitions and exams, so i won't be able to update fast. I hope you guys can be patient with me. **

**See ya around. Pls R&R!**

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Percy's POV

"Damn it…" I muttered, looking down at the sink, my hands gripping the sides of it tightly. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" I muttered again and again.

I shouldn't have lost myself. There was a reason why Mr Brunner never allowed us masters to fight the others. Although most of us could restrain ourselves, sometimes, we lose ourselves, and fight for real. The outcomes were usually extremely fatal.

Mr Brunner should have known better than to send me up. He knew I had the least self-restraint whenever I fought. Why…

The door to the toilet opened, and the sound of wheels filled the place. I looked up to see a worried Mr Brunner pushing his wheelchair in. I was surprised that he looked kind of guilty…not what I expected him to be.

"Percy…" Mr Brunner called. I looked right at his eyes, and saw worry as well as a little guilt in them. "I'm sorry." I looked at him quizzically.

"What are you sorry for? It was me who lost control." I said he shook his head.

"I knew that you would probably not be able to control yourself in a fight. Despite your friendly attitude towards mostly everyone all the time, I know that you become a totally different person when you fight."

"Still, it was me-"

"No, it's not your fault. Percy," He said seriously, his brows furrowed. "Don't think I haven't guessed that whatever you say about your past is a lie. I know you have ghosts of the past haunting you. Whenever you fight, I can see that you lose control of your self-restraint because of it."

Fear and panic struck me like a bullet. Where the hell did that come from?

"What do you mean?" I asked, pretending to be confused of what he was saying. Damn it all if he finds out about it. He stared at me with heavy intensity.

"You're hiding things, Percy. Terrible, horrifying things about your past. Don't think I'm blind to it. I can see things most people can't. In some ways, I'm like you." I stared at him in surprise.

"You probably learnt Swordsmanship in the past to protect yourself. The sword you have now is probably an important gift to you by someone, or at least a very important thing to you. It's probably because of the sword that you learnt swordsmanship. Also," He leaned back in his wheelchair. "I bet that you are well-versed in many hand-to-hand combat styles. You may even know how to fight with two swords. Quite a rare ability, and only one in a billion are able to use the skill to its fullest extent."

"I don't know what you are talking about." I said forcefully, my moment of shock gone. My tone now was cold, hard. I stared at him with an emotionless face.

"You know perfectly what I'm talking about, Perseus Oceana Jackson." My body stilled. My brain stopped functioning. My eyes widened, my jaw dropped. It cannot be. It can't just be. How the hell did he…

"Seeing your reaction, my guess has been confirmed." Mr Brunner stated. I snapped out of my shock, resignation and sadness pervading my heart.

"I don't…" My weak protest died in my throat when I saw Mr Brunner staring at me intently, with no sign of doubt.

"How did you know, or even guess it…" I whispered softly. It was a bit too much for me to comprehend. For more than six years, only a few people suspected that the past I told them was not true, but no one had ever guessed it so accurately.

Looks like my true identity has been revealed. There were many people with the name Perseus Jackson out there, but different middle names. Mr Brunner had just struck spot on. Perseues Oceana Jackson…

"You may not know this, but I had been researching on you ever since you came to this school." Mr Brunner said.

"You were different from everyone else. Despite your appearance, and attitude towards others, I could see that you were carrying many secrets. I have to say, compared to the many other students I did background checks on, yours was the most difficult. It took me five and a half years to figure out who you were."

"Why do you say that?" I had already given in. He knew the truth, there was no use denying it. The only thing I could do now was to make him promise not to reveal it to anyone and to find out how he found it out and cover my tracks.

"There were many clues. First, you actually joined the weapon art class when you were just ten, and you were already an expert in swordsmanship. And don't think I haven't been observing you in your solo practices. You are quite good in nunchucks, the staff, the dagger…well, there are too many things for me to state finish." I mentally berated myself for being so careless.

"Secondly," He continued. "Your appearance. There are many people with green eyes, but only yours is different. I had seen Poseidon's eyes before, and they looked almost exactly like yours." I held my breath. Well, I couldn't really do anything for the eyes. Wearing lenses now was out of question. Thalia, Nico and Grover knew that I had almost perfect eyesight. Wearing lenses would make them suspect me even more.

"Thirdly, well, as I mentioned earlier, I did a background check on you. Your data had practically nothing at all. No history or clues, just that you were sent here for studies by parents living in another faraway place." I massaged the bridge of my nose. Man, I really have to add some fake data inside my fake profile.

"Mr Brunner," I started. He looked at me, eyebrow arched in question. "How did you find out about me? I know you did a lot of research, but my data is kept secret to many except the government and other large businesses. I even changed my birth date and passport number when I applied for this school. To get the real information about me, you would have to enter an extremely private and out-of-bounds archive." I was a little miffed when he smiled at me, the twinkle in his eyes seeming to get brighter.

"Ah, just what I expected from you, to be able to think about that. Most people would be a bit too panicked to think about that." He said, rubbing his chin. I looked at him with impatience and irritation. I needed to know how.

"Don't worry, Percy. The only reason how I found out is because," He paused and leaned towards me, as though he was afraid some one was eavesdropping on us. "I am the managing director of the Big Three. Unfortunately, two of them is currently on hold, though it doesn't really matter as the money they own is so much that no business can even affect it in any small way." He whispered. My eyes widened at the new fact.

"You…you're…" I stuttered. That would mean that…he had known my father personally? My mouth opened and closed like a fish. I was too shocked to say anything.

"Unfortunately," Mr Brunner said with a sigh, leaning back. "I was not managing director at that time when your parents…passed on, and by the time I found out that Mr Poseidon had a son, it was too late. You had already run away from home."

"I…couldn't stand it there anymore. It was hell. I was-" I had started to rant when the door to the toilet suddenly opened, revealing a very annoyed Nico.

"Percy, how long are you going to take to-" he stopped mid-sentence when he saw Mr Brunner. His eyes widened in mild surprise.

"Um, hi, Mr Brunner…are you two busy right now…?" he asked in an unsure tone. Mr Brunner smiled at him and shook his head.

"We were just having a serious talk about how he acted just now in the arena. I'm almost done. Just wait another two minutes." Mr Brunner smoothly said. It wasn't really a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either. Nico nodded and walked out of the toilet, the door closing behind him.

"Can you please not tell anyone about this?" I asked pleadingly. "I can't let them know who I am…I can't let anyone know who I am…" Mr Brunner gave me a questioning look. I sighed, frustrated.

"Look, there are many dangerous people out there who are out for Nico and Jason. Also, there are many searching for me. I've managed to keep a low profile ever since the day I ran from the foster home, and I want to keep my profile low. At least, until all their problems are over, and when my own enemies are dealt with." I explained in further detail. His eyes widened in understanding, and nodded at me. I could see he still had more questions to ask, but he _was_ a managing director, and no people with only a small amount of caliber could go there. He was probably smart enough to know that that was all he could get from me then.

"I'll be seeing you around then, Percy. Remember," he said as I got up. I looked at him to see him smiling kindly at him, his eyes twinkling. "If you need help, call me. After all, I am somewhat below you, though not yet." He said with a light tone, but I could see he was serious. I nodded, giving him a shaky smile before making my way to the toilet door.

"One last question." I called, turning around, my hand already holding the doorknob. Mr Brunner tilted his head to the side, curiously eyeing me.

"What are you doing here, in this school, if you are the managing director of the Big Three?" I asked.

"Why, it's because I was looking for potential employees, of course!" He exclaimed. "After all, I have to manage the employees and everything about them, so I have to look fro capable ones. Also, teaching weapon is kind of a hobby to me, so I joined the weapon Art Class. There could be some potential bodyguards there, after all." He said, smiling widely at me. I had no idea why he was so pumped up, but Mr Brunner had always been a little eccentric. Still, the reason was, well, reasonable.

"Oh..okay. Thanks for telling. I guess I'll see you around, then. I finished, waving a last goodbye before walking out of the toilet, leaving Mr Brunner to Brood upon his now confirmed guess about my identity.


	39. Mr Brunner, and the trip to lunch

**Phew, been a while since i updated, huh? Sorry guys, for the late updating. Super busy lately. Exams still on, and i have competition for the past three weekends. I hope you guys like this chapter. Please enjoy :)  
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**By the way, thanks for the awesome reviews! I really apprciate it guys! And i'm also aiming for a two hundred favs XD **

**Oh yea, I'm actually really eager for the house of hades to come out. I mean, come on, I want to see Percy kick ass in Tartarus XD Though that's probably impossible or something. I just hope that they stay together, and don't die or go insane, and get out of there safely. one thing i know is that i DO NOT want them to be the ones trapped in tartarus to close the gates from that side. That much I'm sure.**

**I'm thinking of making Percy jackson story that is after the whole entire thing. Like Annabeth sacrifice herself to close the doors, Percy jumps back straight into tartarus, and they disappear fro a hundred years and a new generation will come up, with the heroes of olympus still alive as immortals and stuff, and then Percy and Annabeth comes in, but thats another time. **

**PLs R&R! Thanks for the reviews!**

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Annabeth's POV

My eyebrow twitched in annoyance as we waited for Percy to come out of the toilet. What the heck was he doing in there? If he were a girl, I would understand why he would take more than fifteen minutes (**No offence girls. Just that some girls are like that. It's a fact, not saying all girls are like that.)**, but…well, he isn't.

"Is he having a bad stomachache or something…" I heard Thalia mutter in annoyance beside me. The whole gang was waiting at the school gate, and I could see that all of them were getting kind of impatient. Every one was shuffling restlessly.

We all looked up in anticipation when we saw Nico walking towards us. Our hearts fell when we saw that he was alone.

"Percy's talking to Mr Brunner about class…they said that they would be finished in a few minutes. Just wait a little longer." Everyone's eyes widened when they heard it. Well, everyone except those that were present when the incident happened.

"What happened?" Chris asked in curiosity.

"Wait, don't tell me that Mr Brunner allowed him to…" Beckendorf's said in disbelief. When the rest of the group heard him, they all stared at Nico in shock, understanding immediately what had happened.

A few weeks ago, I found out that actually, the _whole_ group was in the Weapon Art Class. The Stoll brothers were in the sword category, much to my surprise. I had never seen them in classes before

It was only after a while that I found out that we all had different time slots for our classes. I also found out that the class I took was already the second most elite one, the most elite being the master classes, of course.

When I asked Percy why the others weren't in our class- I had seen them spar before, they were quite good- he smiled and said "They go to the less elite classes to teach the less elite ones. Most of them are in the top five for each of their weapon category."

I also found out that Clarisse was the master for the spear-users, and that the Stoll brothers were already fourth and fifth in the sword category. The second and third best were Nico and Jason. Percy told me that their skills were so close to each other that no one, not even Mr Brunner, could tell who was actually better.

Chris was quite good with the Bow and Arrow, being fourth. Piper was the third best knife-user. Leo and Beckendorf were second and third of a very…unusual weapon. They were hammer users.

Frank and Hazel used spears too, and were better than Richard. They were both second best. Silena and Katie was kind of a jack-of-all-trades. They used Bow and Arrow, Sword and spear, but her skills with them were all only average.

Okay, maybe there was one exception in the group that wasn't in the Weapon Art class, and that is Grover. He's already in the soccer team, and I heard he's also in music, and played reed pipes well. I never found out why he learned reed pipes instead of more modern music.

"He'll be fine," Thalia said softly, but loud enough for the group to hear. "If anything, it was Mr Brunner's fault." The group nodded at that. I frowned at them. Why is it Mr Brunner's fault? Unless…

Unless Mr Brunner knew that Percy would not be able to hold back in a fight most of the times, and had still sent him out. I grew a little angry at Mr Brunner for taking such a risk, but decided to keep calm for now. I would get the details from Percy later.

After two minutes, we saw Percy walking towards us. He had a smile on his face- the usual goody face. This was the Percy I knew, not the one that had fought in the arena. Was it just me, or did he look happier after talking to Mr Brunner? He certainly looked a lot more relaxed than before he went to the toilet.

"Sorry for the long wait," he said with a apologetic grin. "Shall we get moving?" He asked. The others nodded and smiled back at him.

"You don't look like you were scolded. I take it Mr Brunner didn't put any fault in you?" Beckendorf asked. Percy nodded.

"He didn't. He mostly blamed himself, though," his smile wavered a bit, and I could see a little guilt in there. That caused me to think. Just how much was he hiding? The more I got to know him, the more I felt that he had many, many secrets that he was holding back. "It was totally my fault for losing control." He finished, his grin fading quickly.

"Well, what's for lunch?" Leo said innocently, causing everyone to chuckle. His attempt to change the subject, as well as doing it while acting innocent lightened the mood a little.

"You already know, Valdez," Piper said with a scowl. "You always forget, idiot."

"Shut it, beauty queen. At least my hair didn't cause a beaker to blast apart. What chemicals does your freaking hair contain?" He retorted, and quickly backed away from Piper, who was glaring at him, waves of killing intent emitting off her body. Everyone sweat-dropped at the new revelation.

"Er, no offence, Piper, but your hair actually caused a chemical reaction that made the beaker break?" Thalia asked. When Piper heard Thalia, her anger was forgotten, replaced by embarrassment. Her cheeks turned a little red.

"Er, um, it was just one strand…I don't know why…" She stuttered, causing the group to laugh and her to blush even deeper. Jason wrapped an arm around her, smiling but comforting her all the same. She hid her face into his shoulder.

I smiled at the sweet display, but it slowly faded away when the display reminded me of _him._ I shook my head, dispelling the thoughts and trying to ignore the envy and regret that pervaded my heart moments ago.

I glanced at Percy beside me, and was surprised to see that he wasn't even paying attention to the commotion. He was staring at the ground, arms folded at his chest, eyes swirling as usual, but with a little more intensity. He was deep in thought, though about what, I couldn't guess other than the accident at the arena.

"Hey, it's not your fault at all. It's just that you can't hold yourself back in a fight. Mr Brunner already knew that, and he still made you fight. If it was anybody's fault, it would be Mr Brunner's." I tried to comfort him. When he heard me, he snapped out of his thoughts, and gave me a wry smile.

"Thanks for trying to comfort me, but it was really my fault for losing control. No, really," He quickly said before I could cut in. "I'm fine. I was thinking about something else." I was about to ask what he was thinking about when I heard a distant voice that sounded like Nico's shouting.

"Hey, Percy, Annabeth! Come on already!" To say the least, we were surprised when we saw that the group was already fifty meters away. How the heck do people walk so fast?

"Yea, yea. Wait for us!" Percy called back before starting to jog towards them. I followed closely behind him.

"Man, pay attention next time. If we hadn't noticed that you didn't start walking with us, we would have left you in the dust!" Nico said as we reached them.

"Sorry," Percy apologized. "Was just thinking about something." I could see that Nico was about to ask Percy about just now. He was about to ask when he saw me mouthing words to him.

"_He was thinking about something else. Don't ask him._" Nico's furrowed his eyebrows when he caught my message, but didn't ask.

"Hey, you okay?" Thalia asked. We were trailing behind the rest. Frank and Hazel were holding hands and walking at the same time, having their own private talk. Travis was running away from Katie whereas Katie was screaming "Give me back my teddy bear!" which made me wonder why the heck she brings a teddy bear to school. Jason, Piper and Chris were talking and laughing away. Clarisse was standing beside Chris, listening to their conversation but not adding in anything. Leo and Beckendorf were talking to each other earnestly, probably about some mechanic stuff. Silena was talking to Juniper and Grover. Something about perfumes made from natural things and stuff. I had no idea why Grover was listening into that conversation.

"Yea, I'm fine," Percy replied. "I'm seriously fine, Thalia. Stop staring at me like that. It creeps me out." Thalia tore her eyes away from Percy's face and blushed a little, whereas Percy and Nico just laughed.

Finally, after ten minutes of walking, we reached the shopping mall where I work for five days a week. I frowned a little. I didn't really feel like going there- it was like I was going back to work.

When we reached the entrance, those in front paused and waited for those behind- people like me, Nico, Thalia and Percy- to show up.

"So," Grover said questioningly. "Where exactly is the restaurant?" We all chuckled a bit. Grover was always the first one to ask where the food was.

"Its on the fourth floor. If you want a seat fast, I suggest you go right now to queue." I joked. I blinked when Grover immediately turned around and sprinted towards the nearest escalator up.

"I was joking." I said, not believing that Grover was really _that _desperate. Percy, Nico and Thalia laughed at my dumbfounded expression, whereas the rest of the group was staring at Grover, who was already on the escalator.

"Er, what happened to him?" The Stoll brothers asked simultaneously, both facing us and pointing their thumbs at Grover behind them, both their eyebrows arched in question. They did things so similarly it was disturbing.

"Annabeth just told him that the restaurant's at the fourth floor, and told him that if he wanted a good seat, he would have to hurry and queue up." Thalia said, smirking. The Stoll brothers' mouth made an 'o' shape, and then started to follow Grover's example- running to the nearest escalator. Just that they added a little extra in it.

"EXCUSE ME EXCUSE ME EXCUSE ME EXCUSME…" The Stoll Brothers were screaming at the top of their lungs all the way up. I was amazed- partly at their bravery-or stupidity- to do something like that, and partly because they really had a lot of breath to scream so much. Nico, Thalia and Percy laughed, whereas the rest of the group shook their heads in exasperation. Katie face-palmed, muttering softly under her breath. It was so soft that I could only hear bits and pieces like "Stupid…Stoll…Disruption…problem…kill him…trash bin…toilet bowl…" The curses got worse and worse, and I shut her voice out. I wasn't really very keen on hearing a lot of curse words right then.

When we reached level four, Grover and the Stoll brothers were nowhere in sight. That got us a little worried, but we assumed that they had already reached the restaurant. I admit- I was a little nervous. I mean, wouldn't anyone feel nervous when they're going to take lunch with a group of friends at where they work at on their leave day?

Upon reaching the restaurant, we exhaled a big sigh of relief when we saw out three hyperactive friends talking to Charis, who was looking a little helpless. I bet she never handled such hyperactive people before. I rolled my eyes when the Stoll brothers bowed to Charis. Charis' eyes widened when they did that and she blushed a little. Nevertheless, she quickly got them to straighten up. I guess having two boys bowing to you in public isn't really very pleasant.

"When Charis saw me, her eyes widened in surprise. A second later, her expression turned into one with excitement and joy.

"Annabeth! Good to see you here!" She said brightly when we reached the restaurant's entrance, giving me a dazzling smile. She was always so energetic, so lively.

"Good to see you too, Charis." I said with a smile. Her gaze swept through the group that were all silently observing out conversation behind me.

"Are they your friends?" She asked. I nodded. "You're eating here with them?" Again, I nodded again.

Her smile, if it was possible, grew wider. "Well, I was wondering what you were doing here on your off day anyway." She said. She then leaned close and whispered "The boys in the group look hot." My cheeks felt hot, and I blushed a little. Charis chuckled at me before switching her gaze to the group.

"Well, I'll find the best seats for you guys, since Annabeth here is a friend of yours! Please follow me, ladies and gentlemen." She said before turning around and walking in. The rest followed her, but not before lookind at me quizzically.

"You okay?" Percy's voice asked behind me. I jumped a little, and turned around to see Percy staring at me worryingly. "Anything to do with Charis?" he asked. I shook my head and gave him a big smile.

"Nah, nothing. Come on, let's get going." I said.


	40. Lunch, and a conversation

**holy crap! I'm freaking tired now! I ope this chapter is good for all of you! It has a bit of Percabeth inside. I hope it's okay.**

**Also, i have to say once again that Percy and Annabeth would only get to become a couple long time away. Percy wouldn't even be Annabeth's first boyfriend!(A little spoiler here, huh.) So please stop pestering me about it. I'm still very busy nowadays, and i just ran a cross country yesterday( And got second in my level. Wheee!) I'm really tired. My eyes hurt now...well, enjoy this chapter! PLs R&R! Thanks for the reviews too!**

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Percy's POV

Lunch was magnificent. I never knew that the food in the restaurant was so good. If I did, I would be waiting for her everyday in the restaurant while eating their food. Well, now when I think about it…

"Hey, Annabeth," She turned and looked at me with a raised eyebrow, her mouth filled to the brim with food. She looked like a hippopotamus that had too much food in it's mouth. "Don't eat like that. You'll choke yourself. Anyway, I'm thinking about waiting for you to finish your work down here instead of outside. How does that sound?"

I burst out laughing when she really chocked on her food. She reached into her bag and took out a plastic bag, and then spit everything out inside the plastic bag. I stood up and lightly hit her back as she coughed and spitted out all the food in her mouth. I then passed her a glass of water, which she took and gulped down everything quickly.

I looked up to see everyone staring at us with curious, as well as a little worried, expressions. I waved my hand off-handedly. "It's nothing. She was just a little shocked at what I asked her." I assured them with a smile.

"What were you two talking about?" Silena asked. I looked down and saw Annabeth glaring up at me.

"You freaking laughed at me when I chocked. Bastard." She said, crossing her arms and pouting while glaring at the table. I chuckled a little.

"You wanna tell them what we were talking about? Or not?" I asked her. No response came from her for the next five seconds, but I knew that she was contemplating on whether she should tell or not.

"It's kinda embarrassing…" She whispered softly. Only Thalia and I could hear it, as Thalia was sitting beside her and I was just behind her. I was fine with that. Thalia knew that I took nightly trips to join Annabeth.

"Well, I'm fine if you choose not to tell them. So, what's your answer?" I asked again. The others were still staring at us, but none of them could even guess what we were talking about, except Nico and Jason. She shook her head.

"Not yet. Maybe next time." She replied. I nodded and smiled at the rest. They heard what she said, and looked like they were about to ask more questions. I decided to cut in before they did.

"We'll tell you in due time. It's kinda a sensitive issue." I said, grinning widely at them. I kind of understood Annabeth's point. It's not a usual thing that a boy waits for a girl until one in the morning for her to finish her work.

"Okay then…by the way, when is out exams starting?" Travis asked. Everyone's attention immediately switched to Travis and they were all staring at him in shock, which caused him to shift uncomfortably under their gazes.

"What?" He asked, confused. The others shook her head, and Travis was shaking.

"Finally…you finally care about studies!" She exclaimed and hugged Travis tightly. This, of course, caused everyone to chuckle.

"Hey! I've always cared about studies!" Travis complained while trying to push Travis away from him. He was grinning like an idiot though.

"Yea," Beckendorf snorted. "You care about studies as much as I care for my teddy bear, which is to say, nothing at all."

"You have a teddy bear? So cool! I didn't know such a mean looking guy like you would have one at all!"

"Shut up!"

I sighed in relief as they went back to their own conversations. I looked down at Annabeth. She was still looking down at the table, but her body was tense.

"You okay?" I asked quietly. She looked up, and I was a little surprised when I saw that her eyes were teary.

I would have been worried sick, but the smile on her face told me that she was fine…kind of. At least not extremely sad or something. Still, it bothered me why she was tearing, but I decided to ask her later on our way home.

"Dry your eyes. You don't want them noticing you." I whispered down to her. Her eyes widened. She quickly rubbed the tears away.

"Thanks." She muttered, not meeting my eyes for some reason. I frowned, confused, but went back to my seat anyway.

The rest of the lunch was cheery and loud. Everyone was in their best spirits. Well, except me and Annabeth. Annabeth seemed to be lost in her thoughts, and was always a little surprised when someone started a conversation with her. As for me, I was too occupied thinking about Annabeth and studying her to be enjoying my time.

By the time they finally decided to leave, I was already extremely impatient to get the hell out of the damn restaurant so I can spend time talking with Annabeth about why she was tearing up.

"Thank you for coming!" Charis exclaimed brightly, her bright blue eyes sparkling. "Please come again some time! I would love to hear your loudness filling the quiet restaurant again!" She said with a cheerful laugh. We all smiled and assured her that we would certainly come by soon.

"We're gonna go and ice skate downtown. Anyone want to join us?" Frank asked as we walked out of the shopping mall, holding Hazel's hand. Leo's hand immediately shot up, as well as The Stoll Brothers'.

"Well, we have nothing to do, so I guess we're in. Is it okay with you?" Jason asked Piper. Piper nodded, grinning excitedly from ear to ear.

"I'd love to go! It's been a while since I did something as fun as that!" Piper exclaimed. Grover and Juniper decided to join too. Beckendorf and Silena agreed seconds later.

"We're meeting my parents later, and they live quite far away, so we can't join you guys. See ya tomorrow!" Chris said, waving his hand as he and Clarisse walked off.

"We, um, we're going shopping. Have fun!" Nico stuttered, his and Thalia's face both turning beet red. Everybody smiled at their embarrassed faces. Most, if not all of us, had already guessed that they had become a couple. It was so damn obvious. Only people daft enough like Leo wouldn't notice.

"Hell yea, Ice skating, here we go!" Travis and Connor screamed as they ran for the nearest bus stop.

"Hey, hey! Wait up! You crazy idiot, Travis!" Katie screamed as she ran after them. It didn't slip my notice that she only called Travis' name and not Connor's. The others chuckled knowingly.

"Annabeth, Percy, you guys coming?" Beckendorf asked. I looked at Annabeth, and she looked back at me. A silent agreement was made- we had to talk. Privately.

"Nah, we have some things to do. We'll see you around." I said with a grin and waved goodbye. Annabeth did the same.

"Fine. See ya guys!" Piper called out and they rushed after Katie and the Stoll brothers. Only Thalia, Nico, Annabeth and I were left behind.

"You guys shopping here?" I asked them. Thalia nodded, recovering from her embarrassment.

"Yea, we are. What about you two?" Thalia asked quizzically. I opened my mouth, but was cut short, surprisingly, by Annabeth.

"We're just gonna walk around and explore the place while we talk."

"Okay then. We're gonna go now. See ya later!" Thalia said. They both waved before walking back into the shopping mall. Finally, we were alone.

"We need to talk." I stated. Annabeth was staring at her shoes. It reminded me vaguely of the first few days I met her. She was always looking down, not daring to meet anyone's eyes. But, this time, it was different. She was looking down because she was thinking about something…pondering over a decision.

"Yea, we do…but can we go somewhere quiet?" Annabeth asked quietly. It was almost inaudible due to the hustle and bustle of the city.

"Is my house or yours fine?" I asked. She chuckled softly.

"Well, it's the most quiet place I know of." She agreed. We then made our way back to the street where we lived.

The journey was quiet. Annabeth was so deep in thought that I always had to call her a second time before she responded. Finally, we reached the street. There wasn't much noise here, since it's a residential area.

"So, your house or mine?" I asked her.

"Anything's fine. You choose." She said, shrugging her shoulders. I sighed and chose my house.

"Annabeth…" I called. We were sitting down comfortably on the sofa. The table was filled with tidbits and a few cans of coke, but I knew we wouldn't be eating any. She didn't respond, but I knew she was listening now. "Why…did you tear up just now? Is there something upsetting you?" I asked worriedly. She stayed silent for a while, and then suddenly took a deep breath.

"It was because… I realized just how lucky I was…how blessed…" She muttered in a shaky voice. I looked at her questioningly, but I couldn't see her face as her hair was blocking my view.

"In the past…I never really had any friends at all. I was always known as some weird, loser, nerd freak, I was also considered lazy and a hypocrite as I was always late for school due to my work. They thought I was trying to act like I study hard just so that I can make some friends." Her body was shaking a little. I knew that she was about to sob soon. Her past was difficult, I knew that. For her to reveal it to me, someone who has only known her for a little over a month, she must really be desperate for someone she could rely on. That she could trust fully with some of her past.

I didn't expect her to tell me her whole past, but a part of it was enough. Slowly, slowly but surely, I will learn everything about her, and I would help her. I silently made my way towards her and sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her tensed shoulders and pulled her closer to me so that she was leaning against me, shoulder to shoulder.

"I was an outcast. I was always treated like a dog, like some piece of trash. For years, I never had any real friends. No one, not even teachers, showed me any kindness. Not even the teachers!" She said a little loudly, her voice shaking just as much as her body now. "They thought I was some brat, someone that is worthless with an attitude. They chose to ignore my grades and kept the mindset that I was Annabeth, a weird, piece of shit girl who doesn't mean a thing to the society."

"Ivan is one example. He was not even the worst, but he was the most recent. He literally beat me up everyday. I had bruises all over my arms and legs, so many that I even wore a long-sleeved shirt and jeans to hide all of them even though it was summer. I…" She chocked back a sob. Gods…

"Ivan always took my hard-earned money away from me…he never relented. He never listened to my pleas and cries, just like so many others. He even tripped me in class, and nobody tried to help me. They all laughed and jeered at me, calling me a bitch, a slut…even the teacher found it humorous!" She was sobbing now. Her whole body shook vigorously.

"I don't know whether you can imagine that kind of life. It was devastating. Everything was hopeless, was bleak. Nothing was positive. I was completely shrouded in darkness, with no light anywhere. Not a single ray of light. And then, I got moved here." She said, and even though I couldn't see her face, I knew she was smiling. Her sobs were receding quickly.

"It was one of the best things that had ever happened to me in my life. I had never been to anywhere else other than the Bronx. When I heard that I was able to move to Manhatten, I was shocked at first. I was finally getting a big chance to change my life! And so I took the offer, and moved here." She was looking up now. She had tear tracks on her face, but she was smiling widely as she stared at the space in front of her as she recounted everything.

"I got a big house. A good job with a higher pay. Good friends that don't jeer and mock me, but instead comfort and support me. But the most lucky thing of all was…meeting you." She said as she looked at me with the happiest grin I had ever seen from her ever. My eyes widened in shock.

"You were the first person ever to approach me first. If you remember, I didn't take your greeting too calmly." She said with a chuckle. I chuckled together with her. She certainly didn't.

"And then, you were the first person ever to bother to find out where I went after school." She said. I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. Kinda embarrassing to know that the girl you stalked is openly, though indirectly, saying that she knew youhad stalked her.

"You surprised me a lot when I saw you waiting there, in the rain, with my dinner. It was the first time anyone had ever shown me that amount of kindness. After experiencing some kindness from the others now, I know that that amount of kindness is way above average. Not many people would wait for someone who he or she barely knows to finish their work that would probably end at one in the morning. Nor would anyone buy dinner for someone they barely know." She was gleaming with happiness now.

"And then you were the reason I had the courage to ask the boss to have a two day break per week." She admitted. I shook my head, smiling, but I didn't interrupt her.

"You were the reason why I'm part of the group now. You're the reason why I'm leading such a good life. You even invite me over to your house for meals, and even take care of me when I'm sick! And you even trust me with your house keys! No one had ever trusted me at all. The most they did was trust me to keep being a loser and coward." I was about to protest, but decided against it. She was flowing through her thoughts now I didn't want to break her flow.

"You make me breakfast every morning. You lend me books. You show me so much kindness." I was staring at her in amazement now. I never knew I did so many things…okay, I knew that I did them, but hearing them spoken out makes it sound like I did a lot.

"And that's why I was tearing up. I remembered about the day I saw you standing there, waiting for me, and then I realized I'm really lucky…the first real friend I ever had," She said, grinning happily at me, and the did the most surprising thing yet- she hugged me tightly. "Is also the best friend I would ever have."


	41. Meeting Hades

**Hi guys! long time no see! Sorry, it's my holiday period and in holidays, i get _extremely_ lazy. I'm really damn sorry...btw, i have another one-shot about Percy and Annabeth after the war. Go check it out please, if you have the time. **

**I don't really know whether this chapter was good or not. I tried to make Thalia a little strong at the end, but I'm not so sure if i suceeded XD Please Review and give me some advice. Er, reasonable flames are appreciated :) I also added a lame joke into it, so yea.**

**Pls R&R! Once again, sorry for the long wait!**

**BY THE WAY, if any of you read fairy tail manga, i just gotta let this out. WHY THE HELL DID FUTURE LUCY HAVE TO DIEEE! T.T SO SAD SIA! WA LAO I'M SOOOO GONNA MAKE A ONESHOT ABOUT HER LATER! **

**ok, my rant is finished XD**

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Thalia's POV

"Well, today is when we either die or live…" Nico muttered under his breath, causing me to punch him playfully on the shoulder, though that too was what I thought.

"Be a little positive, please? Its not getting any easier with you muttering and grumbling while saying about dying." I chided. He rolled his eyes and muttered something about girls being too sensitive, causing me to punch him again.

It was Saturday. The day that we agreed that we would finally tell Nico's dad about our ongoing relationship. To say that I was nervous would be quite an understatement. I was practically shivering from head to toe, no to mention that when I wasn't using him as a punching bag, I was squeezing his hand like it was a teddy bear.

"Damn it…can you please tell me how your father will react?" I asked. He looked at the sky and groaned.

"Thalia, that was the fifth time you've asked that question. And for the fifth time, I don't know!"

"You gotta know something about your Dad!"

"We talk so little! I don't even know where he shits!"

"At least you know he shits!"

"The only thing you get out of that is that I know he shits?!" He looked at me incredulously. I huffed and looked away from him, muttering profanities under my breath. I heard him sigh.

"Look, we're doing this only because I want him to know that we're in a relationship. I don't really care whether he approves _now._ I just don't want to hide the relationship from him." I looked at him, confused.

"So we're not going to get his approval?" I asked. He nodded.

"I thought about it over the past few days. It's impossible to get him to approve of my relationship. His standards are sure to be high." I suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

I mean, even though I'm the daughter of Zues, I wasn't even mentioned in his will…I own nothing other than the clothes I have currently and some money that is used to pay the school fees. Even the house I'm living in is not mine.

"Sorry," Nico suddenly apologized. I looked at him, surprised. "I shouldn't have said that. I don't mean that you have a low standard or anything. To me, you're the best girl I can ever find." His face was a little red, probably in embarrassment, but he had a big, reassuring smile on his face.

His words made me so touched, I even teared up a little.

"Thanks for saying that, Nico." I thanked him gratefully as I gleamed at him.

"I was just speaking the truth." He replied, causing me to feel like I was on cloud nine. I walked closer to him until our shoulders were touching, and then kissed him on the cheek. I smiled cheekily at him when he gaped at me. He then shook his head and grinned.

* * *

"Woah." Was the only thing I could say when I saw Nico's house. It was the biggest house I had ever seen. It was seven stories high, at least three courtyards long, had a fountain and a driveway. It also had a tennis court on the right, a basketball court on my left, and who knows what more deeper inside. Everything there made me feel so small and tiny. So this was the wealth of one of the three richest men in the world.

"Yea, I know its grand and all…" Nico said sheepishly. I looked at everything in awe. Damn, I _really_ felt small. Nico seemed to notice, and squeezed my hand. "Don't worry. I'm here, and so is Bianca." He said comfortingly. I nodded quietly, feeling a little better, not much.

We then made our way to the front door. Actually, it was two doors, and they were both taller and bigger than me, and looked like it could only be opened by machinery.

"Are you able to open this thing by pushing it?" I asked. He chuckled.

"It's pretty heavy…nope, you can't. You will need a remote to operate the machinery to open the door. The whole house is bulletproof and everything…maximum security, y'know." He shrugged. Another awesome thing to add to the list of awesome things he own.

He then took out an expensive looking black remote and pressed the button with the word "open" on top of it. There were three buttons. One was "open", the other one was "close", and the last one was "security". I didn't want to know what it did. As far as I know, it probably had rocket launchers and machine guns hidden all around the walls and doors.

The sound of hinges turning immediately filled the place, and the doors slowly opened to reveal a very excited-looking Bianca greeting us with a warm smile.

"Welcome! Great to meet you once again!" Bianca exclaimed cheerfully as Nico and I stepped into the house. I smiled nervously at Bianca.

"Hi Bianca. It's been a while. Nice to see you too." She smiled and nodded.

"Mom's not home today, and Dad's on a call. You have to wait fro him to speak finish first." Bianca said to Nico. Nico nodded.

"Thanks for telling. We'll wait fro him, then." Bianca patted Nico's head affectionately.

"Good luck, you two." She said, giving us an understanding smile before walking back into her room closing the door behind her.

"Sorry. She just doesn't want to be around when Dad starts to shout at us." Nico said sheepishly. I nodded silently as I tentatively looked around his living room.

The first thought that came to me was that Nico's family was really emo. The had black walls, black sofas, grey cupboards…practically everything was dark-couloured. The light from the windows didn't really help to make the home any less emo.

The second thought was that Nico's family was really rich. The sofas were of top quality, the floor was made out of shiny marble, the floor was carpeted and so on. I kind of envied him.

"Take a seat. I'll go check whether he's done." Nico said, pointing towards the sofa as he turned into one of the hallways in his house. I nodded and went to take a sit on the sofa as Nico disappeared into one of the many hallways in the house.

After a few minutes of sitting awkwardly on the sofa and staring at everything, I finally heard footsteps coming my way. Seconds later, Nico appeared out of one of the hallways with a nervous look.

"Well, he's done now. We should get going." Nico said, pointing back at the hallway where he just came from. I gulped, and stood up, slowly walking towards him. We then made our way through the hallway.

I couldn't even count how many corridors we had passed to reach his room. One thing for sure- they had a lot of useless things in the house.

Even with the many corridors, I could see which one was Hades'. Unlike all the previous ones, which were light gray and no designs, the doors that we stopped in front of was dark, yet shiny gray, large, and had golden linings. It also had a design of an obsidian black helm on the left door and an obsidian black sword on the right door. Overall, it creeped me out.

"Ready?" Nico whispered. His voice was tense and shaky. He was obviously nervous. His face was paler than usual, if possible. I, on the other hand, was shivering from head to toe. The whole place felt cold and unfriendly. I was a nervous wreck. I felt like bolting out of the house that very moment, but restrained myself. I was a nervous wreck.

Nevertheless, I had no choice but to go forward, so I nodded. Nico took a deep breath, and knocked on the door. Unlike the main doors, this was way smaller and I don't think it needed machinery to be opened.

Nothing was heard from the inside, but I heard several clicks from the door, and realized that it was the sounds of locks being unlocked automatically. Nico seemed to know how many locks there were. He pushed without hesitation once another click was heard. If it was me, I would have waited for two seconds to see if another one was there, but he merely pushed it open as though he knew.

I barely managed to keep my jaw from dropping at the sight of the office. It was freaking _huge!_ It may be even bigger than the living room! I couldn't observe much though, because in front of us, thirty feet away, was Hades himself. Well, I didn't really know whether it was him, but judging by his cold look, demeaning presence and steely, calculative eyes, I kinda knew it was Hades.

He was sitting on an armchair that was way higher than him. His desk was filled with papers, and he had a black apple macbook in front of him.

"Father." Nico greeted with a bow. I quickly snapped out of my shock and followed suit. Hades didn't make a sound. Nico then started walking towards Hades. We had let go of each other's hands so that Hades wouldn't guess right away. I quietly followed him, feeling more and more nervous, and even _scared _with each step I took. I couldn't help it. Hades let out such a scary presence -like death itself- that I felt like an ant in front of him.

"Who is this, Nico?" Hades voice was as cold as the temperature of the room. To me, the room temperature then was around negative thousand degrees celcius. I could see Nico shaking a little. Even he was scared of his dad.

"This is Thalia." Nico said. At the mention of my name, Hades' eyes widened in shock, which in turn made me surprised too. What's so interesting about me for him to be in shock? Unless..

"Thalia Grace?" Hades asked quietly. I gasped softly at the mention of my surname. How did he know? Nico looked as surprised as I was.

"How did you guess it?" Nico asked. Hades did not reply for a few seconds, studying me from head to toe, his facial expression back to normal. I started having cold sweat as I felt his gaze upon me.

"I keep track of my partners' family, just so you know. Unfortunately, I had lost track of a certain one, but that is for another time…" Hades muttered the last part out quietly, but the surroundings were so quiet that we could hear him. We dared not say anything, sensing that he had not finished what he wanted to say.

"Why did you bring her here?" Hades asked after a few seconds of silence, causing Nico to wince. Nico looked at me, questioning me whether I wanted to tell. I thought for a moment, and then decided. I didn't want to look like some coward, girly scaredy-cat girl in front of Hades. I took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"We came here to tell you…that we're a couple." I stated out straight into his face. I gotta say I was impressed by Hades. He didn't even look surprised. Strange, me and Nico being a couple was not surprising, while me being Thalia Grace was surprising.

"…And you're telling me this because?" Hades asked without emotion, resulting in me staring at him incredulously. Nico cleared his throat.

"We just wanted you to know…" Nico trailed off. He, too, didn't know what to say. Hades stared at the two of us, and then turned back to his macbook.

"You know that I won't approve, Nico. Why did you even try?" Hades said. My insides went ice cold. What did I expect? For him to be all accepting and understanding, and support us? Still, it kind of hurt to see that he didn't even care.

"But dad…" Nico started, but I stopped him, placing a hand on his mouth. I was breathing a little heavily now. My nervousness and hurt slowly turned into anger. Anger at Hades for treating it like nothing. Anger at Hades for stating it so bluntly, without a care for anything.

"Well, we didn't expect you to agree anyway," I said in the cold voice I once used to everyone three long years ago. Hades looked up at me in mild interest. "We just wanted to inform you about it. And we're still gonna continue with the relationship, no matter what you think. I don't care if you don't approve of me. If you can tell me the requirements, I'm damn well sure I can get them if I try." Hades didn't reply, and I knew that the conversation was over. I turned around and started to walk out of the room. I stopped at the doors, and said loudly for him to hear me.

"And if you don't approve because I am Zues' daughter, fuck that shit. I don't care if you guys were rivals. If you think I'm not good enough for your son, well go rot in hell. Only Nico can decide whether the girl is good enough for him or not." I then walked out of the room, leaving a very amazed Nico and a slightly miffed Hades behind.


	42. A small meeting, a problem, an errand

**Hi guys, here's an update :) sorry, not much time to write. I'll still try to update weekly, though, so bear with me :)**

**Anyway, to guest who said it was disgusting for Annabeth and Percy to be brother and sister, Well, please keep your flames to yourself as that is not really constructive criticism. And, they will get together, at a later date.**

**Also, I'm finishing the first part of the story. You can call the past forty or so chapters a pre-story, just a setting an introducing to all the characters. After two or three chapters, it will be the end for the first part of the story.**

**Now, I'm asking whether i should make a second seperate story as a book two, or i should continue with this one. The setting will be two years later, and that's when the love and stuff really comes in. Take note that Percy and Annabeth will still have ways to go, but they would be extremely close. **

**Pls R&R! Thanks for all the previous reviews!(Except the guest on chapter 3) And please bear with me :)**

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Percy POV

I winced as I heard the door slam behind Thalia. Man, I should've guessed she'd get angry at Nico's dad. From what I know, Nico's dad is an extremely cold person who gives off a deadly atmosphere that makes everyone around him feel as though they were about to die in some terribly gruesome way.

I knew that he would have guessed that Thalia is Zues's daughter right after he hears her name, being the meticulous and smart guy he is. Unfortunately, I also knew that he would immediately disapprove of their relationship once he finds that out. Zues was one of his best partners, but also one of his most challenging rivals. Since both of them were owners of two companies out of the big three, they had to work well with each other, but being the top three in the world also sparked rivalry between them.

I sighed and turned my eyes back onto the television, which was showing some action show with people running around shooting people and jumping off buildings and stuff, as usual. My mind wasn't paying attention to the show though. Damn it all. Stupid Hades. Can't he, just for once, just show that he cares?

Even though Hades always acted cold and emotionless towards everyone, I knew that he actually cared. I could see it in his eyes. He may have been able to hide it from almost everyone, but my eyes can detect the care he gives, especially those times I see him with Nico. Not many people can hide their emotions from me. After all, I had inherited that ability from my Father…or so I heard.

Hades and I had never met before. I had only seen Hades five times before. One was when he had fetched Bianca and Nico to school. He only did that because it was Nico's first day at the school. Nico had joined the school a month after I did.

The next few times were just coincidences. Somewhat. Hades is extremely busy, so he could only take his family out for dinner a few times only. During those times, it's easy to spot him since he's always dogged by tens of reporters and cameramen. During those times, I would be able to spot him eating with his family while exuding this demeaning presence that made most reporters stand at least ten meters away from him. Those that dared to go near him ran away once they got his cold stare.

Even though he did all that, I could see him glancing from time to time at Nico. Very subtly, but I spotted it nevertheless. He knew that Nico would be uncomfortable with all the paparazzi, hence he always glanced to make sure Nico was fine.

The only reason I could think of why he acts like he doesn't care about Nico is because he doesn't want to lose his popularity of being a scary and cold person. After all, it was those very values and attitude that allowed him to reach where he was. In the past, when he was still an amateur and trying to expand his business, he had used his cold façade and attitude to scare many businessmen into either running away or signing the contract immediately.

Okay, maybe that was a little exaggerated. Yes, his attitude had made people sign contracts, but it was also because he had the smarts to make a contract so good, any of the businessmen would immediately agree. His attitude just made businessmen sign the contract five times faster than usual, and that gave him a lot of time to sign contracts with many other businessmen.

"I guess I should leave her alone for a while…" I muttered under my breath, switching off my television. I decided to go and pay a visit to Annabeth…I had nothing better to do.

"Yo." I greeted with a wave and grinned widely at Annabeth, who stared at me like I was from outer space. Five seconds later, she was still staring at me as though I was from outer space. I waved my hand in front of her face, stifling a chuckle at her reaction. Seriously, was it that surprising for me to visit her during work?

She immediately snapped out of her daze once I waved my hand in front of her face. "What are you doing here? It's only around seven! I still have at least four hours of work to go!" She exclaimed.

"I was bored, and Thalia isn't really in a good mood, so I decided to drop by." I shrugged nonchalantly. She frowned when she heard what I said.

"I don't really have time to chit chat right now. Come on, I'll get you a seat. If it's possible, tell me why Thalia is upset later." She grabbed my hand and pulled, but I resisted. She turned around and glared at me irritatedly.

"C'mon, I don't have all day!" I merely smiled at her

"Don't mind me. Go do your own thing. I wanna go see your boss." She stared at me incredulously.

"Why the heck do you wanna see my boss?" I shrugged.

"Well, I just…um…want to meet him. I wanna see who you're working for."

"He's not talkative."

"We'll see."

"He's really, really busy."

"As I said, we'll see.

"Why do you want to meet him so much?!"

"I just told you!"

"Argh, whatever! I'm seriously busy now!" She said, glaring at me one last time before turning back to welcome another customer. I was slightly amazed at how her facial expressions could change so fast.

Just a second ago, she was glaring daggers at me. Now, she was beaming at the customer like there was no tomorrow. I shook my head and smiled to myself before heading to the manager's office.

"Hey." That was how I greeted the manager of the restaurant, who had been staring at his computer while typing furiously. At first, he had looked up angrily, but once he saw whom it was, he calmed down.

"Quite a surprise to see you here at this time of the day." He said. I shrugged and sat down on the chair opposite him.

"I had nothing better to do, really. So I just wanted to come here and chat about how Annabeth's doing." He smiled a little at the mention of her name.

"Ah…Annabeth. She's doing extremely well, as a matter of fact." His statement piqued my interest.

"Oh? How so? Please do tell." I asked, leaning forward a little.

"She's an amazing waitress. The best I've ever seen in all the outlets I've worked at in the last couple of years. She serves people with such efficiency, and yet in such a manner that makes them feel happy, that people have been coming back almost everyday just because of her." I never knew she was _that_ good.

"Business must be increasing a little rapidly, huh?" I asked. He nodded and sighed.

"It's so good that a letter had just been sent to me from the owner of the whole company saying that everyone in this outlet will be getting a pay rise. Divide their current pay into half, and add it into their current pay. That's what they'll be getting." My eyes widened in surprise.

"Let me correct my initial statement. Business must be increasing _extremely _rapidly, huh?" I asked with a crooked smirk. He sighed again.

"Yea, but it comes with a price. The sudden influx of people means that more orders are taken, and we don't have enough cooks to handle that. I need to hire two more cooks to be able to prepare dishes fast enough for everyone." He looked tired. I guess he hasn't been sleeping well for the past few nights, thinking about all the new problems.

I looked down at the table and mulled over it for a few seconds while Mr Robert went back to staring at his computer. Cooks…cooks…

My head shot up and stared at Mr Robert, who was a little taken aback at my sudden movement. "I've got it. I remember now. Don't worry about it, I'll get back to you in a few days." I said and stood up.

"…So I can count on you?" He asked a little doubtfully. I grinned at him and nodded reassuringly.

"Don't worry, I'll get you two in no time." I said and left the room. Once I stepped outside, I was greeted by a sight that made me really pity the manager. The whole place was filled with people, and there was a queue that was at least twenty meters long. I saw Annabeth rushing about, greeting people with a smile, bringing four plates of food at a time around the place, bring people to their seats, taking orders…she was a maniac.

"I may not be able to fetch you tonight, Annabeth," I said to her as she passed by. She stopped in her tracks and looked at me…sadly? It made me feel a little guilty. "I have an errand to run that may take me the whole night, and after midnight…sorry." I apologized at the end. She nodded understandingly.

"Okay. I can't really expect you to fetch me all the time, y'know. I'll see you tomorrow if you can't make it tonight." She said. I could tell she was trying to hide her disappointment. The twinge of guilt in me grew, but I really wanted to find those two cooks as fast as possible.

You see, just a few hours ago, I had seen two men going around the shops. I just so happened to be near them as I walked by, and I heard them asking whether the place needed any cooks. They were rejected, as they didn't look much and because the shops were not so busy that they needed an extra cook.

"Sorry once again," I apologized. She smiled and waved. "Get going, then. And stop apologizing. I always told you I didn't need you to fetch me anyway." She said as she looked away. I smiled down at her, and turned around.

"I guess I'll see you again tomorrow. Bye." I bided goodbye and waved as I walked out of the restaurant. Annabeth did a quick wave before going back to work again.

As soon as I got to the escalator, I whipped out my phone and called Mr Brunner.

"Mr Brunner, I need your help to contact two people. They were asking for jobs about being a cook at Lakeside street 39. Can you send some of your men to…"


	43. Trapped and beaten

**Yo guys, sorry for the late update. I was busy, really busy, yesterday. So yea. Anyway, here's the next update. PLease enjoy! :)**

**R&R pls! And THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS GUYS! :D and forgive me if this chapter is not that good. I seriously have no idea how to write fight scenes.**

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Annabeth's POV

"Annabeth, we're done for today. Leave the packing to us. You've worked hard enough." Johnny, a pleasant man at the age of twenty-three, told me with a kind smile. Recently, I found out that he actually didn't even need to work. He was the successor of quite a good business, but he wanted to explore the world, so he took different jobs from time to time. He was leaving in a few days time.

"But I haven't even kept all the cutleries." I protested, waving my hand across the restaurant, which was filled with tables that were not attended to yet. He smiled and shook his head.

"We can handle it. We're not helpless, y'know? And also, you really did the most work today, as usual," He stated, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "And it's already one. Plus, I overheard just now, unintentionally of course, that your friend wouldn't be able to fetch you today, so be careful on your way home, okay?" He said. Even though his face was all smiles and stuff, I knew he was worrying about me.

Even though I wanted to argue, I knew what he said was true. Percy wouldn't be able to pick me up today, 'cause he had something to do, and it _was _late…

I reluctantly nodded. "Alright then. I'll leave everything to you." I said, smiling thankfully at him. He gave a thumbs-up and shooed me away. I obeyed and said a quick goodbye before picking up my bag and making my way towards one of the toilets to change.

I sighed as I walked out of the shopping mall. The roads were quiet, other than the few occasional cars passing by. There were still a few people walking around the place, but most of the people were already going home. I cursed myself as I felt a small twinge of loneliness inside me. No matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise, it was useless. Without Percy, I pretty much feel alone. After all, he _was _my first friend ever since I came to this place, and he had treated me with nothing but kindness ever since then.

I shivered a little as the breeze gently blew against my skin, though it wasn't because it was cold, but because I felt kind of…scared. What the heck was so important that he could not even wait for me?

I then shook my head and berated myself for even thinking that way. I reminded myself that he wasn't indebted to me at all. He didn't have to wait for me everyday for the past few months after midnight to walk me home, he didn't have to make breakfast for me every morning, he didn't have to invite me over to his house for dinner every Thursday and Sunday. All this while, everything he did, he did it out of kindness. I shouldn't take his kindness for granted, or even think that I deserve it.

I took a deep breath and steeled my nerves. I knew how to fight with a knife now, thanks to the club. I knew how to defend myself quite well. Percy even said that I as quite good with the knife. I reached into my bag and took out my knife. It was bronze, with jagged edges that were extremely sharp.

To tell the truth, every time I looked at the knife, I would remember about last time, which, of course, only brought me sadness and pain. I still couldn't throw it away, for some reason, no matter how much I tried to. Whenever I held the knife over a dustbin, I could never let it go into the bin. I always cursed myself for it, but it couldn't be helped.

Having a knife in my hand was comforting, though. Heck, having a weapon in my hand at this time in the night would bring anyone at least a little comfort. At least I could defend myself if someone tries to steal from me or kidnap me.

I started to walk home, looking left and right at the corners of my eyes, constantly on alert. I didn't want to be caught by surprise. I stopped in front of the entrance to the alley that I always used to walk home. It was only five meters wide, the right and left being industrial buildings. The alley was one of the most dangerous places in the city. It was dark, with only the smallest amount of light from the lamplights by the pavements and the stars and moon in the sky. Anyone could ambush me there.

So far, no one had ever tried to ambush us, but maybe that was because we were always together, or maybe it's because Percy was too terrifying. I snorted at the idea, but then remembered about the incident when he had fought Veigar. He had been twenty times scarier then the person I had thought was the most scary at that time, and trust me, I've seen a _lot _of scary people.

I slowly walked in to the alley, my hand clenching the handle of the dagger tightly. I looked all around the place, trying to spot anyone who would try to harm me. The place was so dark; I could barely see anything fifteen meters away. I groaned inwardly when I thought that I still had to walk quite a lot before I could get out of the alleys.

"Damn it…" I muttered under my breath when I saw a group of five walking towards me on the other end. I could see that they were holding bats and sticks, and they were walking towards me in a way that told me that they knew I was there, and they were about to beat me up. Without hesitating, I ran back the way I came from, and took a turn to the right. I heard them shouting for me to stop, and then heard echoes of their footsteps reverberate all round the place.

I had already studied the maze in the alleys, and knew my way around. But I was afraid that they too knew their way around the alleys. I just prayed that they didn't. Unfortunately, luck never seems to be on my side. Every turn I took, they took. They seemed to know where I was all the time, which lane I went to, which turn I took. I frowned as I heard footstep coming from all directions. My heard sank when a revelation hit me- they had split up. Now, it comes down to luck. If I took a wrong turn, I would meet one of them. He'd probably be able to catch me, as I was really, really tired after so many hours of work.

I cursed under my breath as I turned and almost ran into a person. I looked up and jumped back immediately when I saw his menacing grin. He held a wooden stick around three feet long, and was holding it like a baseball bat. I scowled at him, giving him a facade of annoyance. But, in actual fact, I was scared shitless.

"What do you want with me?" I asked, trying my best to make my tone sound angry and scary. I guess it didn't really work, since he just laughed and shouted loudly that I was there. I quickly turned to run but stopped mid-step when I saw another boy, this time holding a baseball bat, standing there and giving me the same grin as the other one. I was trapped.

"Well, well, seems like I've finally caught you, little bitch." I heard one of the four figures say. The last one was still blocking my path from escaping. My whole body stilled, and my heard went wild as I registered that voice.

My eyes widened in shock, and then fear as the one who said it slowly walked towards me, revealing his face. It was that son of a bitch, Ivan. They were all staring at me menacingly.

"What do you want?" I repeated my previous question. He looked at me, stretching out his hand, holding the bat out in front of him.

"Isn't it obvious?" He asked cockily. "I want to beat you up and send you to hell after that." He said with a grin. My heart sank even lower when I heard that. I may be able to take one, even two of them at a time, as I'm pretty sure they only knew how to swing a bat or stick. But taking all five at one go was too much. Slowly, a plan came into my mind.

"Why do you need so many people to do so?" I asked. "Are you so weak that you need four other people to help you to beat me up?" His grin faded away, and he glared harshly at me.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" He asked, though I'm pretty sure he already knew. I shrugged, trying to keep my façade of calm on.

"I'm saying that you're so weak, you need four other boys to beat me." I stated. When he heard those words, his face immediately contorted into one with pure anger.

"Fuck you, weak bitch. I only brought them so it would be easier to find you. I can take you on any time." He said. I smiled and put my hand out towards him, and gestured for him to come. His face, if possible, became even more angry. He was practically shaking from head to toe in frustration and anger.

"Come on." Those two words caused him to snap, and he charged at me with his bat, swinging it towards my head. I ducked and elbowed him in the stomach, causing him to stagger a few steps backwards. When he recovered, he continued to fight savagely. I kept on dodging and hitting him, but his body was so strong, no matter how many times I hit him, he recovered in a mere few seconds.

He and I were panting heavily, but I knew that in terms of stamina, Ivan was sure to win. I had to do something, fast , if not I would be beaten into a pulp.

When he finally got too frustrated, he swung his bat with all the strength he could muster. I dropped to the ground and swept him off the ground by low kicking him. He, being halfway in the movement of swinging his bat, couldn't balance himself well and fell onto the floor, dazed. Annabeth then placed a knee on Ivan's chest and held the dagger at his neck. She stared right into his eyes, and could see the fear in them.

"There, we're done. Now go off." I stated and lifted my knee off his chest. I was surprised when I felt a powerful push from behind, causing me to fall face first onto the ground. Not even expecting it, I fell onto the ground hard, and lay there, the breath knocked out of me. My chest felt a little constricted, and it was hard to breath, and my nose felt like it was just hit by a truck. It only became worse when Ivan turned my body around and placed _his _knee on my chest.

"Oh, lookie here, the princess is pinned down." He said in a mocking voice, causing me to feel frustrated. I tried to move my arms and legs, but found out that the other four boys that had accompanied him held them. He placed his finger on my forehead, teasing me. I shook my head from left to right, trying to free myself, but to no avail. He traced his hand down to my cheeks, and slapped me hard.

My body went limp once he did that. It was a hard slap, on that rendered me almost unconscious. My vision was slowly blacking out when I heard Ivan saying "Oh no, you're not getting off that easily."

I sputtered and coughed as cold water was suddenly splashed onto my face. I didn't know where it came from, but they had splashed my entire body with it. My body shivered and shook in the cold, going numb. I heard them laugh as they saw me shiver at their feet. Tears started to form in my eyes.

Why is it always me that gets all this kind of shit? Why is it always me that gets beaten up and bullied and tortured?

"Lets start. We don't have all day." I heard Ivan say. I didn't have the will, nor the energy to fight back anymore, so I let them take hold of me and pulled me too my knees. Ivan grabbed my chin and lifted my face up so he could stare at me in the eyes. When he saw the tears, he grinned in sick satisfaction. He then let go of my chin and prepared to swing his bat. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, anticipating the pain.

When the bat connected to my stomach, pain exploded in my body, causing me to gasp. I started to struggle, the pain giving me some energy, but it was futile The boys were too strong. Hit after hit came, causing me to feel more and more pain. The screams became louder, as did the jeers and the laughter.

After ten minutes of pulling my hair, slapping me, heating me with bats and sticks, kicking me at the back of my knees, and all the actions you can think of, Ivan pulled my by the shirt and slammed me onto a wall. Tears were already flowing down my cheeks, and I was sobbing.

"See what you get when you go against me, Annabeth?" He whispered into my ear, causing me to shiver in fear. "I bet you thought you could beat me." He said and punched me in the stomach, causing me to gasp in pain, and then whimper as the pain receded slowly.

"Oh and lookie here, it's your bronze dagger." He said as he picked up my dagger that was lying on the floor. I had dropped it when he swept me on the floor just now. He studied it intently, turning it over and over, staring at the handle, then feeling the blade as two other boys held me against the wall. I hung limply, sobbing quietly. I had tried, and yet failed. I may have beaten him first, but I should have expected him to play dirty.

He then brought the dagger and rested the flat edge on my chin. I was breathing lightly now, fear overcoming me as I felt the cold steel against my skin. "I can see your fear," Ivan said, grinning manically. "I wonder how it would feel like if I slowly slit it across your cheeks. He said as he turned the dagger to the sharp edge and set it lightly against my skin. I was sobbing hysterically now, spewing incoherent words.

I don't want to die, I don't want to die! I just can't! Not when I still have so much life ahead of me! Not when I had just found a suitable home and friends that really cared for me!

"On second thought, it's getting late. I need to end it here and now," He said, and I looked at his eyes, my eyes wide in shock and fear. He…was he really going to do it. He really intended to kill me. When I saw the madness in his eyes, I knew.

"N-no…" I whispered in fear and regret. "No…" Ivan didn't even hear me. He was too wrapped up in the elation that he was carrying out his revenge. His revenge that is just for being disgraced in front of Beckendorf and the others that day. He retracted his arm, putting a hand on my shoulder, aiming the knife. I went hysterical and shook and pulled and did everything possible, but the boys were too strong. One hard punch in the gut stopped me from struggling.

"Hope you go to hell, Annie-bitch." He said, and I closed my eyes, preparing for the end.

Just that, I never felt the dagger even touch me. After three seconds of silence, I opened my eyes and was shocked to see another hand gripping Ivan's hand tightly. And it was shaking. My eyes widened.

I'd recognized that hand anywhere. It…it really was…

I smiled just then as I looked up to see Percy, in all his glory. His face was scary though- his eyes were wide and extremely dark, and really, really stormy. I thought I could almost see his eyes swirling, though that may have just been my imagination. I knew he wasn't angry at me, so I didn't feel that scared. The one who was feeling really scared, was Ivan, who was shaking and staring at Percy in what could be called horror.

"You're the one," Percy said quietly in a calm voice, but it held such a cold and powerful tone, I could feel the boys restraining me shiver. Percy then twisted Ivan's hand. Hard. Ivan screamed and dropped the knife, bending his knees as Percy twisted his arm. "Who is going to hell."


	44. Life's complications

**Hey guys. I'm updating early because i really want to get the first part of the story finished first. I have exams around the corner and i may not be able to update weekly for the next two months or so. More so, i have inter-school fencing competition coming up an di need to cope with both studies and fencing, so yea, this is just to appease you for now. This is just a temporary ending, or you can say, this is the ending of the prologue( pretty long prologue, LOL) **

**By the way, I'm still thinking about whether i should make another story with the name "Life's Complication 2" Or something. I think i would not continue on this, as i do no want people to see a story with 200k words in the future once i write finish this story. They would never have the patience to read this.**

**R&R! ENJOY THIS LAST CHAPTER FOR THE PROLOGUE STORY HAHAHAHA.**

**Sorry for the sudden ending, but i really needed to end it, and i can't really think of another way to end it than liek this, as there's nothing else to end this. The main problem Annabeth faced in the prologue was Ivan, and so I'm ending it with Ivan. Don't worry, in the continuation, They would have lots more problem which i will have to work on writing in lesser words HAHA**

* * *

Percy's POV

I may have been acting all calm and cold on the outside, but on the inside, I was screaming things like "FUCKING BITCHES" and "I'M GONNA TEAR THEM INTO PIECES AND THROW THEM INTO THE DARKEST PITS OF TARTARUS." And stuff like that.

Seriously, when I heard cries of pain and sounds of someone getting beaten up, I already felt uneasy. I had gone to the restaurant just to find out that she had left about fifteen minutes ago. When I inquired about why she left so much earlier than her usual timing, a worker there name Johnny told me that he had volunteered to help her clean up the place. It made me a little happy to think that she had such caring colleagues.

After thanking him, I had decided to take the usual route back home. It was when I had entered the alleys that I heard those weird noises. When I followed the noises, I saw that the paths were littered with overturned bins and litter, as though someone had knocked the bins down when they were chasing someone.

The voice screamed again. It wasn't the fact that someone was screaming that made me uneasy-I've heard many different people scream before-, it was the voice that screamed that made me feel uneasy. I knew that voice.

I started to sprint once I heard the screaming stop. By then, I had guessed that it was Annabeth. I had kept on cursing and cursing, and swore that whoever was torturing her then was going to pay.

And when I saw Ivan starting to bring down his hand with the knife into Annabeth, anger coursed through my veins. My vision turned red as I rushed towards them and stopped his hand before twisting it.

"You're the one who's going to hell." I said, glaring straight at him, feeling more anger that I had ever felt in a long time. The other four boys were still too shocked to react, and as for Ivan, he was whimpering like an injured poodle. I was tempted to beak his arm right there and then. So I did.

I pulled him up a little by his twisted arm, and brought my elbow down onto his arm harshly. His screams echoed throughout the alleys. Unfortunately, it also broke the boys out of their stupor. The boys holding Annabeth let go of her and rushed towards me. Their punches were powerful, but slow and uncontrolled. Weaklings.

I dodged to the right as one of the punches came, and grabbed the arm as it went past me. I then pulled the boy towards me and kneed him in the groin. I was impressed when all he let out was a grunt of pain. If he was Ivan, he would be screaming like fuck right now. The other boy tried to punch my face, but I quickly pushed the boy I had just kneed into the boy, causing the both of them to tumble to the ground.

I heard a slight whistle of the wind behind me and ducked just in time for a bat to swing across where my head had been just half a second ago. I dropped to the ground and swept the boy of the ground and quickly finishing him of by elbowing him in the gut using my upper body mass.

The last boy looked at all his friends, who were groaning, grunting, whimpering and crying on the floor, and ran off like a little bunny running away from a wolf. I picked up one of the bats and tested its weight for a second before throwing it at the last boy. The bat hit his head just as he reached the turn. He immediately dropped to the ground, unconscious. I guess I got a little carried away with the amount of force I put in it…

I looked back at the pathetic boys, who were slowly getting up. "Get out of our lives, or you'll get worst than this." I stated, glaring at them coldly. The boys who had accompanied Ivan nodded their heads as fast as they could before scampering away into the darkness, leaving Ivan to whimper on the floor as he clutched his arm.

"You're pathetic." I stated simply, before turning to Annabeth. I was surprised to see her eyes still open. She was conscious.

"Percy…" She whispered weakly. I rushed towards her and knelt down beside her. She had bruises all over her arms. Her shirt was a little torn, her hair was messy as hell, and her face was sticky an sweaty, with blood trickling down the side of her lip.

"Quiet. Don't talk. I'm gonna bring you to my house for treatment. Just rest." I commanded. She was about to say something, but her eyes suddenly widened and her gaze was focused behind me.

"Percy, behind you!" She said urgently. I turned around just to see the bronze knife bearing towards me chest.

Thankfully, I had extremely fast reflexes, and caught Ivan's wrist just in time. He stared at me angrily.

"Fuck you!" He shouted loudly. "You bloody bastard! This is none of your fucking business!" He tried to twist his left wrist out of my grip, but I didn't let him escape.

"Why do you even care about that useless bitch down there? She's nothing but a fucking whore!" He insulted her. With every insult he threw at her, I got angrier and angrier.

"Shut up." I said. He didn't comply though, and kept on with the insults as he pulled back. I gritted my teeth and twisted his arm. He immediately stopped his insults and let out a loud grunt as his body twisted with his arm, his hand letting go of the dagger.

"Listen up," I said. "You will leave Annabeth alone. You will quit the school and leave this city. You will never show yourself in front of me ever again."

"But-" He started to protest, but a sharp twist stopped him short.

"Is that clear?" He looked at me in pain and hatred. I twisted his arm even more, causing him to let out another loud grunt.

"I said, is that clear?" I asked once again. He still didn't answer. I then let go of his arm, grabbed the front of his shirt and slammed him into the wall. I then put my face just three millimeters away from his.

"If you do not do as I say, trust me, I will bring your whole family down to the ground. Your Family's fortune would be lost. Your bank accounts would all be cancelled. Your identities would not even exist in the system. You and your family would be a family of nobodies. Literally. Now, we don't want that, do we?"

"You're lying." He spat in my face. I didn't let any reaction show.

"You want to try me?" I asked, my eyes boring down into his. I could see his eyes shaking already. He was scared shitless. The only thing keeping him from giving in was his pride. I could see that even that was being overcome.

"F-fine. Whatever, you bastard." He said shakily. He tried to sound angry and defiant, but all that I could hear from his voice was fear. I nodded and let go of his shirt. He tumbled onto the ground and stumbled away into the darkness, not even looking back. I then turned back to Annabeth again, and saw her staring at me.

"What? Something on my face?" I asked, taking out my phone and using the camera to check. I heard Annabeth give a weak laugh.

"There's nothing on your face, Seaweed Brain. You don't need to check. It's ugly no matter what you do." She said, her voice laced with playfulness even though it was weak. I chuckled and kept my phone.

I picked up her bronze dagger and examined it. "It's a fine dagger. You're lucky to have it." I said, and stuffed it inside Annabeth's bag before carrying her bag.

"C'mon," I said as I lifted her up, bridal style. She made a surprised squeal, which made me chuckle. "Lets get you fixed up." I shot her a smile. A tear slid down her cheek, and she smiled back.

"Thank you…for everything…" She said, hugging her hands around my neck and hid her face in my chest. Her body shook as she let out all her pent up emotions.

"I…I was so scared…" Her muffled voice said. "I…thought I was going to…to…and you…you just came and…I was so…so happy…thank you…for…" I hugged her closer to my chest. She must have suffered a lot. Well, her physical appearance already told me that. She must have been extremely strong-willed not to beg for them to stop.

"It's all right. As long as I'm around, be assured I'll never let you be killed or anything. If I can help it, I would never even allow you to get hurt at all." I promised. She didn't give any response except snuggling deeper into my chest. I looked down at her and sighed.

* * *

When we reached my house, I immediately placed her gently on the sofa. By then, Annabeth had already fallen asleep due to her exhaustion. Thalia and Jason's doors were closed, and the house was silent. I guess they were already sleeping.

I rushed towards the medical room and took out the first aid box. I then hurried back to Annabeth's side and took a look at all her injuries. Her arms and face had bruises and cuts, but I couldn't see her injuries to the fullest extent as her clothes hid some of them.

I contemplated whether or not to take off her shirt just to see and tend to her injuries. After a few seconds, it was obvious that her health was more important than her privacy. I still felt a little hot in the face when I took off her clothes though. I winced as I saw more cuts and bruises all over her stomach and torso. I threw her shirt and jeans away and started to work on her body immediately.

Ten minutes later, I sighed as I leaned back on the sofa. Her injuries were all cleansed and bandaged; she had a new shirt and jeans on, the blood and sweat on her face was wiped off. Other than the bandages, she looked fine. I sighed again and stood up, packing up the first aid kit and placing it back to it's designated place before going back to the sofa. I fell asleep almost immediately when I crashed into the sofa, beside the peacefully sleeping Annabeth.

The next morning, I was rudely awoken up by a surprised gasp, followed by angry curses and my body being shaken due to a certain hot-tempered girl named Thalia. Jason was standing a few meters behind her, his eyes wide in surprise. Thalia screamed and shouted, asking me what happened to Annabeth, which of course woke Annabeth up too. Thalia, seeing Annabeth waking up, threw herself at Annabeth and hugged her tightly, causing Annabeth to gasp and Thalia to immediately let go and incessantly apologize.

"It's okay," Annabeth said with a pained but happy smile, "I'm fine thanks to Percy. He saved me from being beaten up to death by Ivan and his guys." Annabeth then noticed that she was totally bandaged up, including her torso and legs, and blushed deeply when she caught up on how I had treated her. She decided not to let it out though, and just gave me a thankful smile. I grinned and shook my head, indicating to her that it was no problem. Thalia was too busy ranting on how she would rip Ivan apart to notice our silent conversation, whereas Jason merely raised an amused eyebrow, but did not question.

We never saw Ivan after that. It was as though he had disappeared off the face of the Earth, or at least Manhatten, just like what had I told him to do.

That day, when we reached school, the whole group went into an uproar when they saw Annabeth. Silena kept on fussing over Annabeth's face, Juniper kept on scrutinizing Annabeth, looking for sign of severe injuries, the Stoll brothers were shouting in unison, asking Annabeth how she was, Leo was telling Annabeth that he had a machine that could scan her body for any major internal injuries, Frank and Hazel kept on asking whether she was alright, Beckendorf quietly stood by, but still looked at Annabeth with concern, Chris just stood behind Clarisse as she kept on shouting for the name of the person or people who had beaten her up, and generally the whole group was concerned about her.

This, of course, made Annabeth break down into tears, which caused everyone to become even _more _concerned about her well-being. She did not want to tell them what was wrong, though I knew why she cried.

I smiled and sighed in exasperation. "There's the proof you need," I whispered under my breath. "That you have friends that really care for you, Annabeth. You're not alone anymore." By some kind of transcendental way, Annabeth seemed to hear her and turned to look at me. The wide smile on her face then told me that she now knew that she had friends.

No matter what life's complications she had, she knew that she now had friends to count on.

* * *

**AAAAANNNDDD Life's complications number 1 is done! LOL once again I'm sorry for ending it so abruptly, but I can't think of a lot of ways to end it, and i need to end it before my exams start, which is next monday, because if i still continue when my exams start, you guys would have to wait for maybe even two weeks for me to update, which i'm sure you guys would not like.  
**

**Plus, I'm sooooo sorry i didn't make Percy and Annabeth come together. they would only come together in the second book...but i hope all those almost Percabeth moments would help you to be less angry at me...i didn't think my story would be this long. I'M SO SORRY!**

**I've decided to write the continuation on a different story, as i said earlier. I don't want people to see 200k words and all. So yea. **

**THANK YOU ALL REVIEWERS! I REALLY LOVE U GUYS! **

**AWESOMEL IS AWESOME! :D (I'M A BOY BTW HAHA)**

**KATIEELIZABETHGRACE: THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS YOU WROTE! i APPRECIATE ALL OF IT! GLAD YOU LIKED IT AND I'M SURE THAT IF ON KEEP ON PRACTICING, YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO WRITE TOO!**

**WRESTLING IS MY BEST SKILL: I"M SORRY THAT SOME OF THE IDEAS I HAVE DOESN'T SUIT YOU, BUT STILL, THANKS FOR READING AND REVIEWING!**

**ANNECHASE: THANKS FOR THE COMPLIMENTS! :D**

**BRIGHTWATCHER: GOOD LUCK FOR YOUR WRITER'S MUSE TOO! THANKS FOR REVIEWING AND READING!  
**

**MONKEYFACE: PERCABETH WON'T HAPPEN TILL THE NEXT BOOK, I'M SO SORRY, BUT THEY'RE ALREADY DAMN CLOSE! **

**ALEXANDRA JACKSON ROCKS HADES: THIS IS THE NAME OF MY PREVIOUS MODEM'S NAME HAHA I DONT REALLY KNOW WHAT IT MEANS..THANKS FOR READING AND REVIEWING! :)**

**4EVERLUCKY: YEA, GO PERCY!**

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**LOUISA4533: HAHA, HOLY HOLY~~ THANKS FOR REVIEWING!**

**THAT WAS SUCH A FACE PALM: DAAAAAAYYYYY-UMMMMMMM :)))))))))))))) **


	45. An Continuation

**Yo guys, just to tell ya I've posted the continuation of this story. I'm sorry it took so long...but the exams are over, and i have the time now. Enjoy it and R&R pls! :)**

**~Kuntakintae**


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